Amazon exiles discussion
TV, radio, cinema, books & tech
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"I read a book once - Green it was"
You've obviously never been to Northampton, tech. I was there in November and am in no hurry to go back. I'm sure its history is fascinating, as will be the history of Luton and Reading, but the present reality is indubitably dump-like.
"accidental fire"they're still having council meetings to discuss if they should have the fire put out!
"Northampton"there's nowhere in the book that moore suggests that the town is any better than a shitehole, perhaps that's where his pride lies? the triumph is the depth of research applied, and the skill of a gifted storyteller entwining fictions around these. he himself says that 'it's fiction, not lies'. that it was his first book outside the graphic novel genre makes it all the more remarkable!
mibbe the first book after reading something so inspirational would pall in comparison, and try as i might i'm finding Renegade: The Lives and Tales of Mark E. Smith to be quite a let down. at 20% in, i'll persist, but so far it's been ordinary and t.b.h., almost pointless - was expecting something a little more insightful and a lot more incisive! hopeful of upturn as we go on!
Last night I went to hear a talk by Alexander McCall Smith. I am a great fan of the Mma Ramotswe books and also the Scotland Street series; not so much the Isabel Dalhousie series - she's just too prissy and irritating for me. It was general admission, sold out and the crowd was heaving in the foyer, waiting for the doors to the theatre to open. I was waiting for a friend cos I had the tickets so found a posi just inside the front door and pressed up against the wall. Look up from my book (NOT a McCall Smith title) and there's the great man himself, walking through the front door, big smile on his face and aiming straight for me with his hand extended. "Thank you very much for coming," he says. All I could think to say was "Thank YOU for coming." I also said that I hoped I would be able to get a seat in this throng. "Oh, just follow me," he says, "I'll find you one." Unfortunately I had to demur as I was still waiting for P. But what a lovely man! Of course, afterwards, I remembered what I should have said - that I've always felt I was his mirror image (apart from being unable to write) - we are a year apart in age, he was born in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe but left to live in Edinburgh. I was born in Edinburgh but left to live in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. Maybe next time .....
nice, val, you must be one that people gravitate toward - or mibbe it was "what the ****'s that she's reading?" :)
How exciting Val. In your place I would have not only forgotten all those things I should have said, it would also have completely left my mind that I was actually waiting for someone, and I'd have trotted after him :)ps - how was the talk?
Tech wrote: "nice, val, you must be one that people gravitate toward - or mibbe it was "what the ****'s that she's reading?" :)"Never! He's far too nice for that! And anyway I was reading an Australian crime book - Bitter Wash Road - and I know he would have approved.
nocheese wrote: "ps - how was the talk?..."Very enjoyable. It was supposed to be an interview by local author Toni Jordan (unknown to me but apparently one of her books was a Richard and Judy Bookclub pick in 2008 if that's any recommendation), but he's such an accomplished raconteur that she barely got a word in. He spoke about how he submitted his first literary effort (a two page story), at age 8, to a publisher and was gratified to get a reply, encouraging him to keep going. Another tale was about a very young lad who came to his door with a story for him. It consisted of two sentences. "The naughty man stole all the toffees. The police came and arrested him." He thanked the young boy but said the story was more likely to be intended for Ian Rankin. That led him onto Ian Rankin and how he has written him into two of his Scotland St series - IR's reaction to both was very funny. The stories were too numerous to mention - they covered sharing bathrooms (with fellow students/flatmates, etc); a Cunard cruise around Cape Horn with no internet (making supply of his daily Scotland Street chapters very precarious); his fascination with primates, leading to his opera "The Okavango Macbeth" about an ambitious female baboon; his founding of The Really Terrible Orchestra, the name of which is licensed to him and you have to apply to found your own one - but he always gives permission; etc. etc. My friend P, despite being a voracious reader, has never read a McCall Smith title (saw the Precious Ramotswe TV series) and said he was reminiscent of Peter Ustinov in that he was a born story-teller. He also read a couple of his poems - one about how airline pilots would sound if they used a more literary form of language. Read it here:
https://www.alexandermccallsmith.co.u...
I liked the point he made that crime novels were actually about place (despite him staying in Sweden many times and never encountering a murder!). When I think of Colin Dexter's Morse, Ann Cleeves' Vera and indeed the Garry Disher novel I mentioned above, how true it is!
Thanks for that, Val. I love the poem, and I'm also very taken with the illustration. Any details about it?You may already know this, but our much-missed Carradale is a friend of his, and even makes an appearance in 'The Right Kind of Rain'.
I think I did know that. Probably Les told me. That's the one where some of the action takes place in a gallery in Hanover St (or nearby) I think.
Renegade: The Lives and Tales of Mark E. Smith - did pick up, in the nick of time, and it's not often i'll dump a book before finishing, but still didn't scale any great heights. some sense spoken but not awfully satisfying.
if you want to, and i certainly ****ing did, buy https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thats-Your-L... for a big £1.99!or if you missed https://www.amazon.co.uk/Daft-Wee-Sto..., it's gaun for 99p!
for how long i no ken!
I'm not fully awake yet ... or had any Breakfast either ... yet I've just gone and spent £2.98 on two Books I never wanted and I've never heard of?! - LOL!!! ;o>Note to self : make sure you wake up properly, drink lots of Coffee, eat a hearty Breakfast, hide your Purse and Credit Card ... then log online!
you'll be glad you did, 'daft wee stories' is excellent, as i imagine 'that's your lot' is. :)note to self ; make sure i start an amazon wishlist, and put some extravagant and expensive items on it! :)
Just got the Angelique Kidjo book - Spirit Rising : My Life,My MusicLove her music so looking forward to this and a bargain at £3.51 for hardback posted no dust jacket but who cares for that price.
Spiritinblack wrote: "Just got the Angelique Kidjo book - Spirit Rising : My Life,My MusicLove her music so looking forward to this and a bargain at £3.51 for hardback posted no dust jacket but who cares for that price."
I've only seen her once but, oh, what a powerhouse! I swear she had more of the audience up on stage dancing than were left in the concert hall.
a big £3 at british heart secured one that's been on my list for a while - hard back 2nd re-print, great nick,A Brief History of Seven Killings
nocheese wrote: "Mainly for Val:http://thenational.scot/news/16149974..."
Thanks nc. That case sounds fascinating and very apt for the charity concerned. Also, more operettas should be 30 minutes long!
I also looked up Prestonfield House because I thought it rang a bell and I see it is on the outskirts of Arthur's Seat (Holyrood Park) and I think I may have snuck up the drive once and taken some photos, but that was many moons ago. It looks very luxurious now - and it's dog-friendly too!
only 150 pages down, 1050 to go, but am relishing virtually every word on every (in very small print) page of Jerusalem - each chapter a finely detailed, exquisitely written, and tenuously linked piece about people and happenings in northampton throughout time - shopfitting monks, a lesbian artist transcribing her brother's visions to canvas, a time hopping, billiards watching tramp, a paintings restorer experiencing religious advice from a mural in st.paul's cathedral (he has links to northampton) and st.peter looking for the centre of britain where he might place the artifact that he's carried on his shoulder from the holy land! it's a heidfu', but a supremely enjoyable one!
much puzzled! having a browse in amazon kindle store, and noticed the legend,Raw content
Hello you asked for null!!!
at various locations on the kindle books home page - i no onnerstand!
Nor do I but this morning's kindle email asked 'Looking for something in Private?' which turned out to be private investigator books, so maybe they're trying to put a spark in their marketing?
cheers, isabella, had a thought they may be trying to punt porn for the kindle! :)
So, I've just finished reading 'The Twelve' by Stuart Neville. Goodreads has noticed this, and helpfully suggests that I should next read 'The Ghosts of Belfast' by the same author. Luckily I am aware, as apparently Goodreads is not, that this is an alternative title for the same book. Muppets.
I've now started 'Invisible Republic' by Greil Marcus. I'll let you know if they suggest following up with 'Old, Weird America'.
"Muppets" ... you tell 'em, nocheese! ;o>
thems goodreadses dinnae kenses thems arseses from they elbowses!
suzysunshine7 wrote: ""Muppets" ... you tell 'em, nocheese! ;o>"I'd have called them a lot worse if I'd gone and bought the same book all over again at their recommendation.
Tech wrote: "thems goodreadses dinnae kenses thems arseses from they elbowses!"I hope that's really you, tech. He's not back is he?
Tech wrote: "me's a happy techses!"Hope you've left techses chainsaw at home.
techses chainsaw massacre - boom! :)
Tech wrote: "techses chainsaw massacre - boom! :)"You forgot to add ‘Oh, very poor’ ;-)
Into https://www.amazon.co.uk/Skin-Game-Hi... by Nassim Nicholas Taleb right now.mmm, fascinating stuff.
Making a break after two Adam Nevill's horror novels - The Ritual and Last Days, the latter enjoyed immensely. Oh, short stories collection https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hasty-Dark-S... was good too.
An autobiography coming out on the 31st of May that might be of interest? ...https://www.amazon.co.uk/Let-Good-Tim...
goodreads appear to be quite demanding of those who choose to participate in the reading challenge (why treat book reading as a race anyhoo?) i did choose to, and knowing i'd be reading the mighty hefty 'jerusalem', i figured 18 to be a reasonable estimation of my consumption for the year. when i started reading it i was 2 books ahead of schedule, now i'm 1 behind with another 1000 (beautifully written) pages to go! i'll be in negative figures by the end! just strange. carry on.
.’....unquestioning embrace of big tech’Something we should be told?
"Tech has radically changed the way we live our lives"it's what i do, ma'am, it's what i do!
Lez wrote: ".’....unquestioning embrace of big tech’Something we should be told?"
'The People vs Tech' (gulp!)
The People 0 Tech 1 - be warned!
very pleased to discover that there's a new patrick mccabe book out! i was reading that he finds his tag as 'master of bog gothic' as both patronising and inaccurate, although he refuses to stop basing his stories on the 'bogmen'! whatever his genre might be, he's a genius of the dark and the (very) uneasy. a very misunderstood writer, but a single-mindedly determined one, he seems to attract reviewers that don't get him - i can't recommend his books highly enough, and figure he'll be recognized above all other irish writers (joyce included) when all is said and done.Heartland
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heartland-Pa...
opted for the kindle version, as it's been neglected due to the 'jerusalem' epic, of which i have almost finished book 1 (brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!) i'll break to read 'heartland', and probably again after book 2 - great as it is, it requires heavy attention, so it might be wise to break it down.
....and the kindle version is 89p cheaper than it was yesterday! what's that aw aboot?
however, Heartland is brilliant, an irish mountain men country & western reservoir dogs - a fairy tale for hard men! patrick mccabe's books are always very divisive in folks' reactions to them - if you get it, however, you really get it. whether he's comfortable or not with his tag of 'king of bog gothic', he produces works of great genius, based on the marginal (and often deranged) peoples who inhabit small town ireland.on to 'jerusalem - book 2 - mansoul'
very pleased (as would be sera, but ain'ts seen him for a while on here) to see there's a new haruki murakami novel on the way - 9 oct.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Killing-Comm...
picked up a 99p charity shop nice copy of The Book Thief - anyone read this? got opinions?about half way thru' Jerusalem, an outrageously brilliant book, so far! can't see my opinion changing tho'!
Tech wrote: "picked up a 99p charity shop nice copy of The Book Thief - anyone read this? got opinions?about half way thru' Jerusalem, an outrageously brilliant book, so far! can..."
I feel guilty that The Book Thief has been gathering dust on my "to read" shelves for many moons now. Especially since I LOVED his trilogy The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe and When Dogs Cry, as well as the stand-alone The Messenger. Wonderful writing from such a young man.
After a few Adam Nevill's horror novels my attention naturally switched to real life serial killers and kidnappers. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fred-Rose-St... was about one of the most fascinating love stories (oh, with some rapes and killings in background).
Prize for the most (in)famous kidnappers goes... surely to Austria. Fritzl, Priklopil, er... Vienna woods killer. Hitler.
Well, recent Ariel Castro from Cleveland wasn't slouch either.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hope-Memoir-...
To get my mind off atrocities turned to couple of Anton Chekhov novels. Did you know he is second (sharing with Charles Dickens) after Shakespeare for getting his works adapted for the screen?
Now back to routine,
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Under-Watchf...
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"In 1668 the town was largely destroyed by an accidental fire".
There are no quotation marks around 'accidental'.