The GOT Book Club

[LostLegend]

John Krakauer's 'Into Thin Air' next. The guy who wrote 'Into The Wild' (I have a copy on order) which the movie of the same name was based on.

This is about the 1996 Mt. Everest disaster in which three separate expeditions were caught in a storm and faced a battle against hurricane-force winds, exposure, and the effects of altitude, which ended the worst single-season death toll in the peak's history.
I believe the writer, Krakauer, was a member of one of these expeditions himself. Heard it's an intense read, so looking forward to this one.

Really enjoyed this.
Goes a lot into the entire process of climbing Everest as part of a guided expedition interspersed with stories of notable attempts to climb the peak from the likes of George Mallory, Edmund Hillary and an assorted cast of rich, adventure seeking crackpots throughout the decades.
It then gets into the details of the disaster, in which a freak hurricane hit the peak as several of the groups were attempting to descend from the summit to the highest base camp 4, in which there were quite a few deaths and severe injuries.

Honestly, from reading this, I think you'd have to be some sort of maniac to even attempt it, even guided. The way Krakauer talks about the prolonged effects of exerting yourself at such high altitude (26k feet and above is known as the death zone) sounds like absolute hell even with oxygen tanks. He even talks about when reaching the summit, he was in so much physical pain and so out of it with hypoxia that he didn't even celebrate.

It definitely appeals to the sociopathic, rich, business types who want another feather in their cap to brag about. There's a particular story about one of the Japanese expeditions literally stepping over some climbers from another group who were obviously hypothermic and in serious trouble, stating it was none of their business and continuing their own attempt at the summit.
The quest to reach the summit (Which some people were paying £65k for in 1996) was clearly more important to some people than the lives of those around them.

Deffo recommend this one. Got a copy of 'Into The Wild' (Which the Sean Penn movie of the same name was based on) by the same author to get to at some point.

 

[carlos21]

Really enjoyed this.
Goes a lot into the entire process of climbing Everest as part of a guided expedition interspersed with stories of notable attempts to climb the peak from the likes of George Mallory, Edmund Hillary and an assorted cast of rich, adventure seeking crackpots throughout the decades.
It then gets into the details of the disaster, in which a freak hurricane hit the peak as several of the groups were attempting to descend from the summit to the highest base camp 4, in which there were quite a few deaths and severe injuries.

Honestly, from reading this, I think you'd have to be some sort of maniac to even attempt it, even guided. The way Krakauer talks about the prolonged effects of exerting yourself at such high altitude (26k feet and above is known as the death zone) sounds like absolute hell even with oxygen tanks. He even talks about when reaching the summit, he was in so much physical pain and so out of it with hypoxia that he didn't even celebrate.

It definitely appeals to the sociopathic, rich, business types who want another feather in their cap to brag about. There's a particular story about one of the Japanese expeditions literally stepping over some climbers from another group who were obviously hypothermic and in serious trouble, stating it was none of their business and continuing their own attempt at the summit.
The quest to reach the summit (Which some people were paying £65k for in 1996) was clearly more important to some people than the lives of those around them.

Deffo recommend this one. Got a copy of 'Into The Wild' (Which the Sean Penn movie of the same name was based on) by the same author to get to at some point.

Good evening mucka.

 

[atrottel]

Really enjoyed this.
Goes a lot into the entire process of climbing Everest as part of a guided expedition interspersed with stories of notable attempts to climb the peak from the likes of George Mallory, Edmund Hillary and an assorted cast of rich, adventure seeking crackpots throughout the decades.
It then gets into the details of the disaster, in which a freak hurricane hit the peak as several of the groups were attempting to descend from the summit to the highest base camp 4, in which there were quite a few deaths and severe injuries.

Honestly, from reading this, I think you'd have to be some sort of maniac to even attempt it, even guided. The way Krakauer talks about the prolonged effects of exerting yourself at such high altitude (26k feet and above is known as the death zone) sounds like absolute hell even with oxygen tanks. He even talks about when reaching the summit, he was in so much physical pain and so out of it with hypoxia that he didn't even celebrate.

It definitely appeals to the sociopathic, rich, business types who want another feather in their cap to brag about. There's a particular story about one of the Japanese expeditions literally stepping over some climbers from another group who were obviously hypothermic and in serious trouble, stating it was none of their business and continuing their own attempt at the summit.
The quest to reach the summit (Which some people were paying £65k for in 1996) was clearly more important to some people than the lives of those around them.

Deffo recommend this one. Got a copy of 'Into The Wild' (Which the Sean Penn movie of the same name was based on) by the same author to get to at some point.

I really enjoy Jon Krakauer's writing from his Outside magazine days onwards, but he got into a bit of a dispute in the climbing world after this book. A lot of back and forth, but it's worth reading The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev, which was written from his pov and obviously doesn't agree with Krakauer's views.

If you like 'climbing' books (and especially K2), I'd recommend K2: Triumph and Tragedy by Jim Curran and In the Throne Room of the Mountain Gods by Galen Rowell (hardback also with great photography - worth ordering from the library if you don't want to pay out the money for it).

As far as general mountaineering goes, Moments of Doubt by David Roberts is a great collection of his articles and, if you really want to plunge into the UK climbing genre, the Boardman Tasker omnibus (with four books) is a must have.

 

[Martin Alvito]

With Dune II in the theaters right now, I appreciated this graphic about how to read the actual books:

View attachment 247851

All of Frank Herbert's books are good. You could stop at the second or third if you want to be selective, rather than a fanboy. Any Dune product written by someone else is not good.

I've got Shogun and Three Body Problem on my list now.

It shouldn't shock you if I recommend Shogun. I enjoyed The Dark Forest a lot more than The Three Body Problem.

If you want some random sci-fi recommendations, here goes: Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide, Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama, Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, PKD's Ubik, Scott Card's Speaker for the Dead, Gibson's Neuromancer and Count Zero, Simmons' Hyperion, Stephenson's Snow Crash, Wilson's Spin. Plenty of other good stuff in the genre, but that's the S-tier outside of Foundation and the first three robot novels.

 

[verreauxi]

Really enjoyed this.
Goes a lot into the entire process of climbing Everest as part of a guided expedition interspersed with stories of notable attempts to climb the peak from the likes of George Mallory, Edmund Hillary and an assorted cast of rich, adventure seeking crackpots throughout the decades.
It then gets into the details of the disaster, in which a freak hurricane hit the peak as several of the groups were attempting to descend from the summit to the highest base camp 4, in which there were quite a few deaths and severe injuries.

Honestly, from reading this, I think you'd have to be some sort of maniac to even attempt it, even guided. The way Krakauer talks about the prolonged effects of exerting yourself at such high altitude (26k feet and above is known as the death zone) sounds like absolute hell even with oxygen tanks. He even talks about when reaching the summit, he was in so much physical pain and so out of it with hypoxia that he didn't even celebrate.

It definitely appeals to the sociopathic, rich, business types who want another feather in their cap to brag about. There's a particular story about one of the Japanese expeditions literally stepping over some climbers from another group who were obviously hypothermic and in serious trouble, stating it was none of their business and continuing their own attempt at the summit.
The quest to reach the summit (Which some people were paying £65k for in 1996) was clearly more important to some people than the lives of those around them.

Deffo recommend this one. Got a copy of 'Into The Wild' (Which the Sean Penn movie of the same name was based on) by the same author to get to at some point.

All the Krakauer books are great; the one on Mormonism is quite eye-opening. Haven't read the Pat Tilman one, though.

 

[atrottel]

All the Krakauer books are great; the one on Mormonism is quite eye-opening. Haven't read the Pat Tilman one, though.

It's worthwhile. Eiger Dreams is a good collection of his early articles. If you like Into the Wild, Finding Everett Ruess by David Roberts has some similar themes.

 

[COYBL25]

David Dien’s autobiography.

Ghost written by Henry Winter, so it’s really well written.

From a general footballing perspective, it’s a fascinating book, as he was heavily involved with the inception of the Premier League and bringing Arlene Wenger to England.

Sadly, he was very good mates with Kenwright and name checks him several times.

 

[Black Belt Jones]

Finished Brian Catling's The Vorrh - top drawer fantasy novel. One of the most original I've read in a long time, although a bit on the surreal side for me. There are a further two books that I will likely read, but not expecting many answers.
Amazing quality for a first novel - that was published when he was nearly 60. He was a primarily a sculptor I think.

Also had a reread of The Rider by Tim Krabbe. Basically the first and last literary book about bike racing, as it cannot be topped. But anyone who has done a sport of hobby obsessively will understand this book.

Hot and overcast. I take my gear out of the car and put my bike together. Tourists and locals are watching from sidewalk cafes. Non-racers. The emptiness of those lives shocks me

 

[LostLegend]

Heard loads about this one and had a few friends recommend it.
It's an old fashioned style whodunnit murder mystery, set in a early 20th century manor house full of rich socialites, bankers and whatnot along with the servants etc. When the daughter of the Lord of the House is murdered at 11pm during a masquerade ball.

Sounds pretty standard Agatha Christie fair, only the twist is the main character tasked with solving the crime, 'Aiden' is stuck in a groundhog day style time loop, where the day keeps resetting with Evelyn dying at 11pm every night.
Waking up every day he finds himself inhabiting the body of a different person within the house.
So like Agatha Christie meets Groundhog Day meets Quantum Leap.

I enjoyed this one.
The twists and turns kept me invested and it's a lot of fun if you put your disbelief at the utterly bananas plot to one side.

 

[Blue peter]

View attachment 252931

David Dien’s autobiography.

Ghost written by Henry Winter, so it’s really well written.

From a general footballing perspective, it’s a fascinating book, as he was heavily involved with the inception of the Premier League and bringing Arlene Wenger to England.

Sadly, he was very good mates with Kenwright and name checks him several times.

He brought her husband as well didnt he?

 

[summerisle]

What a spiffingly good idea.

 

[Bkk Andy]

Heard loads about this one and had a few friends recommend it.
It's an old fashioned style whodunnit murder mystery, set in a early 20th century manor house full of rich socialites, bankers and whatnot along with the servants etc. When the daughter of the Lord of the House is murdered at 11pm during a masquerade ball.

Sounds pretty standard Agatha Christie fair, only the twist is the main character tasked with solving the crime, 'Aiden' is stuck in a groundhog day style time loop, where the day keeps resetting with Evelyn dying at 11pm every night.
Waking up every day he finds himself inhabiting the body of a different person within the house.
So like Agatha Christie meets Groundhog Day meets Quantum Leap.

I enjoyed this one.
The twists and turns kept me invested and it's a lot of fun if you put your disbelief at the utterly bananas plot to one side.

Just bought this based upon your post. Thanks

 

[LostLegend]

Just finished Cormac McCarthy's 'No Country For Old Men'

I've actually never seen the film, despite it being on my to-watch list for years.
It was of course as brutal as I expected it to be, but the final part of the book took me completely by surprise, in a "Wait, that's how this all ends?" kind of way.
Then I remembered that McCarthy doesn't really do happy endings does he?

Fantastic none the less.

 

[COYBL25]

Killers of the Flower Moon - David Grann.

I read this after watching the film, as I was curious as to how accurate the film was.

The book wipes the floor with the film and if they’d stuck to the book and made a shorter film, it’d have made a much better watch.

Grann is one of those rare authors, who has the writing ability, to make a factual book read like a novel.

A genuinely outstanding read, horrendous, but fascinating at the same time.

 

[COYBL25]

Just finished Cormac McCarthy's 'No Country For Old Men'

I've actually never seen the film, despite it being on my to-watch list for years.
It was of course as brutal as I expected it to be, but the final part of the book took me completely by surprise, in a "Wait, that's how this all ends?" kind of way.
Then I remembered that McCarthy doesn't really do happy endings does he?

Fantastic none the less.

Have you read McCarthy’s - The Border Trilogy ?

The first book out of the three, All the Pretty Horses is about as upbeat you’re going to get in a McCarthy book.

That book in particular, is one of the most beautifully crafted books I’ve ever read. It’s just stunning.

After you’ve read that, you fully understand what a literary genius McCarthy is and why his books are studied at university level.