I like Jim Thompson and went through a phase back in college. He's quite subtle and his books are like a slow-burn. But they all grew on me.
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The GOT Book Club
- Thread starter chicoazul
- Start date
I like Jim Thompson and went through a phase back in college. He's quite subtle and his books are like a slow-burn. But they all grew on me.
random
Player Valuation: £15m
The one finished today is SWAG by Elmore Leonard, most people will know of him due to the number of books he has written that have been made into films, Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Rum Punch (Jackie Brown).
I really wanted to like it more than I did, the story about two stick up men is really good, some interesting dialogue and situations. Until that is I reached about the half way point when the characters wanted to get in on a bigger score, at that point the story got a bit off track.
If he had kept to the stick up theme throughout the book there would have been enough situations to keep it interesting.
As with a lot of his books that I have read, the characters and story are there and for the most part they are excellent, there is just comes a point that my enthusiasm starts to wain, but I usually have too much invested in them to totally give up.
The book gets finished and I can't help but feel that a slightly different angle would have elevated it from decent to excellent.
You know what you are getting with his books, if you like his style then of course its worth a read, but there are better books in the genre out there. It will pass the time for you without being a full-on page turner.
I really wanted to like it more than I did, the story about two stick up men is really good, some interesting dialogue and situations. Until that is I reached about the half way point when the characters wanted to get in on a bigger score, at that point the story got a bit off track.
If he had kept to the stick up theme throughout the book there would have been enough situations to keep it interesting.
As with a lot of his books that I have read, the characters and story are there and for the most part they are excellent, there is just comes a point that my enthusiasm starts to wain, but I usually have too much invested in them to totally give up.
The book gets finished and I can't help but feel that a slightly different angle would have elevated it from decent to excellent.
You know what you are getting with his books, if you like his style then of course its worth a read, but there are better books in the genre out there. It will pass the time for you without being a full-on page turner.
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random
Player Valuation: £15m
just seen a link to bookbub.com on reddit
Have just had a look on the site and put in what books I normally go for, its given quite a few recommendations for books that look quite interesting. It also lists books that have a deal on them, either cheap or free limited time deals (via amazon, apple etc).
One thing to watch out for is it links to Amazon.com rather than .uk so keep an eye on the price to make sure it's still worth getting, (if it's a free book then its free on all the sites though).
I will be using it for recommendations as it's thrown up quite a few decent titles from the look of things
If you are after some freebies then I think you could do a lot worse.
Example:
Most of them might be pants, but no harm in looking
Have just had a look on the site and put in what books I normally go for, its given quite a few recommendations for books that look quite interesting. It also lists books that have a deal on them, either cheap or free limited time deals (via amazon, apple etc).
One thing to watch out for is it links to Amazon.com rather than .uk so keep an eye on the price to make sure it's still worth getting, (if it's a free book then its free on all the sites though).
I will be using it for recommendations as it's thrown up quite a few decent titles from the look of things
If you are after some freebies then I think you could do a lot worse.
Example:
Most of them might be pants, but no harm in looking
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Philw
Player Valuation: £50m
I got a similar email recently, from The Fussy Librarian <headlibrarian@thefussylibrarian.com>. I think they curate sponsored 'free' books, so again, don't know about the quality, but nothing to lose (apart from time!).
Another cheap book(s) I picked up a while ago and enjoyed are Frank Tayell's Surviving The Evacuation series, and Nathan Van Coops time travel series.
random
Player Valuation: £15m
Finding a place that lists free or cheap to read books is always good 
I have been struggling with recommendations for a while, the latest method I tried was pick a book I had read and liked, found someone on goodreads who rated it high and looked on their shelves, if I spotted something else I had read and they scored it the same then I would delve deeper into their other high ratings and check those books out.
atm I am using the storygraph to get a list of books that are based on my preferences, so after I have tried a couple of them I will see if it's worth sticking with their recommendations or go back to my goodreads reviewer method (or keep trying bookbub recs)
I have been struggling with recommendations for a while, the latest method I tried was pick a book I had read and liked, found someone on goodreads who rated it high and looked on their shelves, if I spotted something else I had read and they scored it the same then I would delve deeper into their other high ratings and check those books out.
atm I am using the storygraph to get a list of books that are based on my preferences, so after I have tried a couple of them I will see if it's worth sticking with their recommendations or go back to my goodreads reviewer method (or keep trying bookbub recs)
random
Player Valuation: £15m
Back to the award winning books to see if there is anything decent out there, this time it's The Lock Artist
Story about a safe cracker by Steve Hamilton (whoever he is).
Would not have classed it as an award winner, but I wasn't doing the awarding so... <shrugs>
The book is told in a cross between linear and flashback (every other chapter), how he started safe cracking, how he gets his jobs, his 'issues', and so it goes on.
Anyone who likes hard boiled noir will become frustrated with this sooner rather than later. The story ambled along and there were some interesting bits in it which kept me from binning it off totally
If the author had made it a more straightforward story and gone down a more gritty route then I think it would have been a whole lot better, he had enough ideas to make it work in that regard.
But it is what it is, you will finish the book and it will be something to pass the time but you will come away thinking how much improved it possibly could have been.
If you come across it and its on a deal and cheap enough then you might want to try it, but don't go out of your way to hunt it down.
Story about a safe cracker by Steve Hamilton (whoever he is).
Would not have classed it as an award winner, but I wasn't doing the awarding so... <shrugs>
The book is told in a cross between linear and flashback (every other chapter), how he started safe cracking, how he gets his jobs, his 'issues', and so it goes on.
Anyone who likes hard boiled noir will become frustrated with this sooner rather than later. The story ambled along and there were some interesting bits in it which kept me from binning it off totally
If the author had made it a more straightforward story and gone down a more gritty route then I think it would have been a whole lot better, he had enough ideas to make it work in that regard.
But it is what it is, you will finish the book and it will be something to pass the time but you will come away thinking how much improved it possibly could have been.
If you come across it and its on a deal and cheap enough then you might want to try it, but don't go out of your way to hunt it down.
Melba Toast
Player Valuation: £750k
Everything is fcked was good. I liked The Subtle art of not giving a fck better though.
Awhile back I posted about my friend who wrote this book on nutrition/fitness from an evolutionary perspective. His advisor in grad school (and a big name in our field) just wrote this book, which is lots of fun and should be interesting to those into running, working out, etc.
Very cool. Read the review in the WSJ couple weeks ago, which was very positive, and was thinking of checking out a copy from the library
the golden visionary
Player Valuation: £35m
The subtle art was excellent
BigMick
Player Valuation: £20m
Apart from The Great Gatsby I've always preferred his short stories. I recently reread The Pat Hobby Stories, written late in his career, post crack-up, and dismissed by some snobbish critics as 'hack work' as Scott was running short of money when he wrote the 17 stories for magazines. They are based on Fitzgerald's own experience of working in Hollywood; Pat Hobby is a genuine hack writer who was successful in the silent movie era, but has struggled to find work since talkies came in. Now he hangs around studio lots trying to find work or thinking up ridiculous and often dubious money-making schemes. When he does find work he's usually teamed with a talented writer, as happened to the likes of Faulkner, Clifford Odets and Fitzgerald himself when they worked in Hollywood. Pat's contribution is to make small changes to the script, such as shuffling a few lines around or changing "crimson" to "red," and "Get out of my sight!" to "Scram!". The portrayal of Hobby is warm, touching, and at times very funny, the writing lean and sharp and I'll undoubtedly read them again in the future, which is more than I can say for novels such as The Last Tycoon.
random
Player Valuation: £15m
Another crook story, after the last book which wasn't really dark enough for me i have given this a go
Blurb:
As lawyer Charlie Arglist prepares to leave Wichita, Kansas, with a suitcase full of stolen money, he revisits the scenes of his past--his angry ex-wife, ex-lovers, cops on the take, and bars filled with secrets that others will do anything to hide.
Interesting story, decent characters, strip joints, robbery, killings, basically all the things I like in a book.
If you like fast paced action then you will enjoy this.
However, watch out for the cost of this one...
If you spot it 2nd hand/cheap then grab a copy, amazon are asking £15 for it (it's not worth that), ABE are half that price so it is an alternative worth looking at if you like the reviews you see online for this and fancy getting it.
The problem the book has it is not so much the story or writing but the cost, it is up against a lot of books that are free or a couple of quid to buy, if you can get a kindle version for £2 or so then I would recommend you get it if this genre is your thing, Otherwise save your money
Blurb:
As lawyer Charlie Arglist prepares to leave Wichita, Kansas, with a suitcase full of stolen money, he revisits the scenes of his past--his angry ex-wife, ex-lovers, cops on the take, and bars filled with secrets that others will do anything to hide.
Interesting story, decent characters, strip joints, robbery, killings, basically all the things I like in a book.
If you like fast paced action then you will enjoy this.
However, watch out for the cost of this one...
If you spot it 2nd hand/cheap then grab a copy, amazon are asking £15 for it (it's not worth that), ABE are half that price so it is an alternative worth looking at if you like the reviews you see online for this and fancy getting it.
The problem the book has it is not so much the story or writing but the cost, it is up against a lot of books that are free or a couple of quid to buy, if you can get a kindle version for £2 or so then I would recommend you get it if this genre is your thing, Otherwise save your money
Great book, really enjoyed it right up until the end 
- there is a book #2 in the series but because of the ending on this one I will swerve reading it
- there is a book #2 in the series but because of the ending on this one I will swerve reading it
Melba Toast
Player Valuation: £750k
Can’t remember what one it was(I think it was everything is fcked) but he told a story about a Japanese soldier fighting in WWII named Hiroo Onoda who held out on a Philippines island for 29 years after the war was over. 29 friggin years. Fortunately he wrote a book about it. I must admit, It’s not the greatest written book, but the story is just unreal. The Book is called: No surrender: my thirty year war.
random
Player Valuation: £15m
I have just finished the first book in the 'Wyatt' series by Garry Disher. There are 9 books in the series and the first one is....
Blurb (from reviews)
This is the kind bare boned underworld narrative that takes no prisoners, pulls no punches and just gets in with it. An excellent criminal anti-hero sits at the centre of the tale. Neither warm nor loveable he is just sufficiently flawed to end up in a scrape or two, but crucially the other characters are all weaker, nastier, and worse. Wyatt is a very careful man, because he has to be. Wyatt robs banks, lifts payrolls, gets girls, leaves girls, lives the life of a loner, trusts few, works out the details and thinks a job through. He regards his criminal activities as his job, he's very professional. He doesn't like surprises, he doesn't like hot heads and half wits, mind you, he can handle them when he needs to.
Anyone that has read Richard Stark's 'Parker series' will certainly feel at home with this character, professional heisters trying to find large amounts of cash and then figuring out a way to get their hands on it.
Decent read and I will definitely be checking out more in this series, this first one is worth getting hold of if this is your thing.
However the pinnacle of this genre is without doubt the books by Richard Stark, which imho are the ones you absolutely must read if you like this one.
Blurb (from reviews)
This is the kind bare boned underworld narrative that takes no prisoners, pulls no punches and just gets in with it. An excellent criminal anti-hero sits at the centre of the tale. Neither warm nor loveable he is just sufficiently flawed to end up in a scrape or two, but crucially the other characters are all weaker, nastier, and worse. Wyatt is a very careful man, because he has to be. Wyatt robs banks, lifts payrolls, gets girls, leaves girls, lives the life of a loner, trusts few, works out the details and thinks a job through. He regards his criminal activities as his job, he's very professional. He doesn't like surprises, he doesn't like hot heads and half wits, mind you, he can handle them when he needs to.
Anyone that has read Richard Stark's 'Parker series' will certainly feel at home with this character, professional heisters trying to find large amounts of cash and then figuring out a way to get their hands on it.
Decent read and I will definitely be checking out more in this series, this first one is worth getting hold of if this is your thing.
However the pinnacle of this genre is without doubt the books by Richard Stark, which imho are the ones you absolutely must read if you like this one.