Big fan of Mieville’s work. His book on the Russian Rev. is also decent read as well as his fiction
Last year I re-read a bunch of Pratchett for the first time since my teenage years and was slightly surprised to be in the same situation and finding him fine, but nowt special
Doug Stanhope ‘Digging Up Mother’ is great. I also really liked Morrissey’s ‘Autobiography’, gets a bit Partridge-like towards the end with all the vitriol around the court case.
Just smashed this in a week or so.
Really enjoyed it, but left me with a few questions. I recommend if tortured successful people are your bag.
@anon83623327 You read Shoe Dog? That’s a good one.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shoe-Dog-Phil-Knight/dp/1508211809
I’m a big fan of biographies. This is one of my favourites:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/You-Cant-Win-Jack-Black/dp/9562915093
This was an interesting one:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Unraveling-High-Hopes-Missed-Opportunities/dp/1610397142
And any of John Simpson’s ones. I think some of that might be down to having worked at the BBC but he has some incredible stories.
Sure there’s some good ones I’m forgetting too.
Do audiobooks count? That’s mostly how I get books done these days, just because I can listen to them while I’m on my lunchtime walk from the office, in the car or out running.
Anyway, stuff I’ve listened to lately: Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker. Although I still can’t rid myself of the notion that the stormclouds are gathering this book certainly helped. He demonstrates pretty convincingly that by most metrics we are fortunate enough to be living through the best time to be alive in all of human history. E.g. miseries like war and famine, whilst not relegated to the history books, are actually at an unprecedentedly low incidence. Bad news should be taken seriously but in context, the trajectory is clear, shite like Trump and Brexit are bumps in the road not 180 degree turns. Well worth a listen/read, especially if the news cycle is making you feel overwhelmed and unbearably gloomy about the state of the world it might give you another perspective (although his struggle to fit climate change into his overall narrative is obvious).
On a similar but perhaps less overwhelmingly optimistic tip Yuval Noah Hurari’s Sapeins and Homo Deus taught me some interesting stuff.
Because I’m a massive nerd who likes scifi and escapism I’ve been getting through some space operas. Children of Time and Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky are both pretty great. Also the Bobiverse trilogy are immense. Can’t imagine anyone who has ever enjoyed sci-fi not liking those.
Back down to earth, The Secret Barrister and This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor. Stuff you don’t want to know about our legal and medical professions.
Also listened to both of Doug Stanhope’s and they work better as audiobooks I think, Nomad by Alan Partridge definitely does because Coogan’s performance as Partridge is obviously a lot better than the one that would be going on in my head if I’d read it. It properly had me crying laughing that book.
Think I have some Tchaikovsky on my Kindle queued, quite looking forward to it. What’s the Bobiverse?
Just started a book called Sea of Rust which is shaping up to be quite interesting, but it’s early days yet.
I just read Both Children of Time and Children of Ruin the last couple of months. So good. Children of Ruin was incredible.
I’m onto another of his at the moment, Cage of Souls. Give it a go, I’m half way in and enjoying it.
I have Children of Time, I’ll give that a go soon.
Interviewed a few Wu over the years and that guy was the standout worst.
He gives the impression he would be, but in what way especially was he bad?
Refused to answer certain questions, one word answers and trying to be mysterious when he just sounded rude and thick.
Still massively more entertaining than Stuart Braithwaite from the group Mogwai.
Read his other book when you can, it’s called The Better Angels of Our Nature. That book covers the whole history of violence in mankind and how currently, it’s perceived we’re worse off in terms of war and violence as a whole, but that we’re actually a lot safer now.
Did you read (or rather listen) to This Is Not Fame: A “From What I Re-Memoir”? I thoroughly enjoyed that one and I kept reading it in Doug’s voice haha. I need to read more of his books, as I did enjoy the writing style of that one as well.
Yeah I already got through both of those, although that Stanhope book I seem to remember he has his mate reading half of it. Still good, though.
It’s taken me weeks but I’ve finally read Dracula by Bram Stoker.
…it’s a bit of a slog.
To cleanse myself of the latest BBC shit I found all the Agatha Christie books on the Internet last night.
Really good quality, come with all the covers and the ones I’ve dipped into on my reader app seem really good quality. The ones I have on my kindle occasionally had pages of corrupted shit on them.
Free to a good home if you would like to dick massage me (If I can work out how to send a 135mb file)
If anyone likes Sci Fi bollocks, then give this a go:
A Memory Called Empire , by Arkady Martine
Have had this on my want to read list on Goodreads for a while now. It sounds right up my street.
Just picked up a hardback copy of Watchmen for 2 quid in Oxfam. Well excited to read it.
Also just read Of Mice and Men yesterday for the first time. Somehow managed to avoid having to read it at school. Read it in one sitting, haven’t done that for years. So good.
