Yeah, it is also very US centric as well, to be expected really.
It does also highlight the disparity between what the critics rate highly compared to the public. The same with any medium really.
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The GOT Book Club
- Thread starter chicoazul
- Start date
It does also highlight the disparity between what the critics rate highly compared to the public. The same with any medium really.
Just looked through the list…and I’ve read 9 but none of the top ten entries. So I’ve got a lot of reading to do
The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
As voted on by 503 book lovers — with a little help from the staff of The New York Times Book Review.www.nytimes.com
The NYT's top 100 books of the 21st century so far.
I've read one of them
I'm sure there's a few great reads amongst them, but the list looks like a chin-strokers wet dream. The type of people who go to indie film festivals to watch 3 hour long, silent art-house films and enjoy independent theatre.
. I feel like a traitor to my Comp Lit background, but most of what I have read on the list is nonfiction:
Emperor of All Maladies
Passage of Power
Secondhand Time
Nickel and Dimed
Tenth of December
Trust
Say Nothing
Lincoln in the Bardo
Pachinko
The Road
Yet another Jon Krakauer book down, he's quickly becoming one of my favourite non-fiction authors.
'Under the Banner of Heaven' this time around, which covers the history of the Mormon faith, in particular the polygamist fundamental sect. It also covers the murder of Brenda Lafferty and her infant daughter in 1984 at the hands of her brothers-in-law Ron and Dan Lafferty who believed they were acting upon orders from God himself.
This was a pretty wild ride. I had some knowledge of Mormonism, it's founding and Joseph Smith, but had no idea just how much violence and bloodshed there was in their history.
Also, when it came to the polygamist sect, the guys who take multiple wives and father ungodly amounts of children (the irony of that statement is not lost), I was not at all surprised to find that some of the many wives these pervy old codgers marry are not always of age. Religious fundamentalism and perverts seem to be a regular match.
"What's that? Your wife has hit her late 20's? We can't have that, she's far too old, God has just revealed to me that you are to marry your neighbors 14yo daughter, who is also technically your niece and get her up the duff as soon as you can"
Despite the rampant noncery, I did enjoy this bit:
Yeah, that book was quite eye-opening. Like you I had some knowledge of the Mormons, but the deep-dive by Krakauer was really well done!
Lapeno77
Player Valuation: £35m
Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space
Adam Higginbotham
Blow by blow retelling of the disaster tracing the origins back to the Apollo 1 fire.
Calling it enjoyable, given the subject matter, seems wrong, but it's well written and never gets boring.
gonetomorrow
Player Valuation: £70m
Very American but room for Mantel and Ishiguro. Zadie Smith.
I have so much to read.
Not that I am a Tory fan, far from it, have always voted Labour for Gen Elecs, but is this a fair and impartial read, or does it come from a anti-Tory bias?
Have this at home, haven't got round to reading it yet (there is a long wait list!).
…clearly things have improved lots since those times but there are also many similarities with today.
Although born in Dublin, Noonan (Tressell) had lived in Liverpool from about the age of 14 (Caird Street and Queens Road) His final resting place is even more ironic given that as a 19 year old, he was sentenced to 6 Months hard labour in that very prison after stealing a quantity of silver from the house of a shipping agent in Crosby. One of his sisters was at the time 'in service' at the household.
He emigrated to South Africa on his release, married there and had a daughter, but was soon divorced and was granted sole custody of his child. They returned to England in 1901 and settled in Hastings (which is Mugsborough in the book) The book was finished in 1910 but he was unable to find a publisher (mainly because of the length of the manuscript and the fact that it had been written by hand)
He returned to Liverpool alone in late 1910 and died in Liverpoll InfIrmary February 1911.
His Daughter eventually got the book published in 1914 (in a very much abridged edition) she was paid £50 for the manuscript and all rights too it.
A second edition (shortened even more) was published in 1918. The full version was not published until1955 after the original hand written Manuscript was discovered by Noonans biographer.
I first read the book as a 14 year old, but after reading it again in my 30s I became obsessed (not just by the book, but by the life story of the Author and also the story of that handwritten Manuscript, which is now held in the TUC Library collections)
random
Player Valuation: £15m
Its a fair read insomuch as everything he states also has a reference link to show it is factual.
He does write is a sarcastic manner which I admit is aligned with my sense of humour.
That said, there is an anti-tory bias but only because they have given the guy so much ammunition he can’t help but fire the shots.
It’s a good read irrespective of who you vote for.
That's the commonly held belief, and it gets repeated in all biographies, but I have my own thoughts on that.
Possibly one of the most intriguing science fictions stories I’ve ever read.
It was originally written in the 70’s by these two Russian brothers. Soviet censorship meant that only abridged versions were ever released in the west and it wasn’t until 2012 that a full proper translation was released in English. It has a reputation for being a huge inspiration for a number of other sci fi writers.
It’s set 13 years after 6 alien craft land on Earth. They only stay a couple of days before leaving without making any attempt at contact. The areas where they landed have been dramatically changed, with strange and dangerous anomalies occurring there such as gravity traps and electric storms. They have also left behind a number of strange yet highly valuable artifacts.
These areas have all been fenced off and are now known as ‘Zones’
One of these zones has a research complex called 'The Institute' attached, which sends men known as 'Stalkers' out into the zone, at great risk to them selves, to retrieve these strange artefacts for study. We follow one of these stalkers named 'Red' who also has a side hustle of sneaking into the zone to take artefacts out himself to sell on the black market.
It’s only a short read at about 200 pages, but I was absolutely hooked. It stands up fairly well for a 50 year period of sci fi book which is worth mentioning.
There’s also a heavy dystopian vibe to the story and tons of subliminal allegory influenced by the writers lives under the soviet regime.
This was a great read, big recommend!
Bluesaint
Player Valuation: £2.5m
I think you’ve just sold me my next read!
Possibly one of the most intriguing science fictions stories I’ve ever read.
It was originally written in the 70’s by these two Russian brothers. Soviet censorship meant that only abridged versions were ever released in the west and it wasn’t until 2012 that a full proper translation was released in English. It has a reputation for being a huge inspiration for a number of other sci fi writers.
It’s set 13 years after 6 alien craft land on Earth. They only stay a couple of days before leaving without making any attempt at contact. The areas where they landed have been dramatically changed, with strange and dangerous anomalies occurring there such as gravity traps and electric storms. They have also left behind a number of strange yet highly valuable artifacts.
These areas have all been fenced off and are now known as ‘Zones’
One of these zones has a research complex called 'The Institute' attached, which sends men known as 'Stalkers' out into the zone, at great risk to them selves, to retrieve these strange artefacts for study. We follow one of these stalkers named 'Red' who also has a side hustle of sneaking into the zone to take artefacts out himself to sell on the black market.
It’s only a short read at about 200 pages, but I was absolutely hooked. It stands up fairly well for a 50 year period of sci fi book which is worth mentioning.
There’s also a heavy dystopian vibe to the story and tons of subliminal allegory influenced by the writers lives under the soviet regime.
This was a great read, big recommend!
Same as that, ordered now.