BobbyBiscuit Posted June 8, 2009 Report Posted June 8, 2009 Didn't several people try to sue Dan Brown for plagiarism when The Da Vinci Code first became famous. I've never read it but a mate of mine, who reads far too many books to be considered normal, described it as formulaic, tired American pish that could have been written by anyone following a "how to write a novel" guide. I think the fact that every chapter was a set number of pages really got on his tits as well. Safe to say he didn't like it and that is probably one of the reasons I've never bothered to pick up a copy. I attempted to read it. It was fucking awful. It was as if it had been written by a 5 year old, but without the 5 year old's flair. Quote
Superstar Tradesman Posted June 8, 2009 Report Posted June 8, 2009 I read it and enjoyed it but probably just because I knew it would piss off the Church. Read the rest of his books after and they were terrible. On a slight tangent; I spotted 3 people on the train this morning on the way to work that were reading. Each book had "The number 1 international best seller" written on the front cover and it got me thinking. Are there any books that don't claim to be this? Quote
Goldie03 Posted June 8, 2009 Report Posted June 8, 2009 I liked TDVC but only got as far as the first chapter of A&D which I thought was pish Love in the Time of Cholera was pretty dire - I skimmed most of it I am about to start Play Dead by Richard Montanari And will need to read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince just beforethe film comes out Quote
Bumper Posted June 9, 2009 Report Posted June 9, 2009 Seeing as im new.....what ive read over the last year or so.... One Minute to Midnight by Michael Dobbs....all about the Cuban Missile Crisis,excellent read.. The Unforgiven by Rob Bagchi...Don Revies time at Dirty Leeds... The Final Days by Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein...Watergate.. Kennedy,A Life by Robert Dallek...JFKs life...(surprisingly... ) Nixon,Alone in the Whitehouse by Richard Reeves...got a thing going with reading about ex-presidents!!! And the book i can recommend to anybody reading this is Wonderland Avenue by Danny Sugerman. Best read ever. Quote
minijc Posted June 9, 2009 Report Posted June 9, 2009 Away to a buy a couple of books regarding music, saw a beatles book for £3 in HMV and a Billy Bragg book aswell for £2, anyone from here read either or even better got other suggestions? Quote
BrownyBrown Posted June 9, 2009 Report Posted June 9, 2009 Away to a buy a couple of books regarding music, saw a beatles book for £3 in HMV and a Billy Bragg book aswell for £2, anyone from here read either or even better got other suggestions? There possibly couldn't be more than one book written about The Beatles could there? Quote
glasgow sheep Posted June 9, 2009 Report Posted June 9, 2009 Bad Science, by Ben Goldacre. A must for all, especially for those confused and frightened about media scare stories, esp MMR. Quote
BigAl Posted June 10, 2009 Report Posted June 10, 2009 And the book i can recommend to anybody reading this is Wonderland Avenue by Danny Sugerman. Belated welcome on board, good to have someone else on here of shall we say "mature" years that vividly remembers the good old days Had a look on Amazon at "Wonderland Avenue" and it certainly gets positive reviews. Order to be placed ahead of summer hols Quote
Bumper Posted June 10, 2009 Report Posted June 10, 2009 Belated welcome on board, good to have someone else on here of shall we say "mature" years that vividly remembers the good old days Had a look on Amazon at "Wonderland Avenue" and it certainly gets positive reviews. Order to be placed ahead of summer hols Mature??? Jeeezzz...im gettin` ald!!! Wonderland Avenue is a terrific read...been through that book a number of times now,would love to rabbit on a bit about it,but i winna ruin it for you!!! Enjoy! Quote
BigAl Posted June 10, 2009 Report Posted June 10, 2009 Mature??? Jeeezzz...im gettin` ald!!! Well Bumper did leave us in the summer of '77 if I remember correctly Quote
Bumper Posted June 10, 2009 Report Posted June 10, 2009 Well Bumper did leave us in the summer of '77 if I remember correctly Aye,pissed off to Leeds and left me greeting into my scarf the bastard Oh well i thought,i`ll support Leeds too then........ Cheers Arthur. Quote
scunnered999 Posted June 10, 2009 Report Posted June 10, 2009 Reading "My Name is Legion" by A. N. Wilson. Quite an enjoyable satire on the Daily Mail, amongst other things. I'm reading "My Name is Leighton" by Andy Legs Quote
Kowalski Posted June 10, 2009 Author Report Posted June 10, 2009 Aye,pissed off to Leeds and left me greeting into my scarf the bastard Oh well i thought,i`ll support Leeds too then........ Cheers Arthur. Nothing wrong with supporting Leeds mate Quote
BigAl Posted June 10, 2009 Report Posted June 10, 2009 Nothing wrong with supporting Leeds mate Oh ya fucker......is this the same Kowalski that has a pop at me about the Toon Quote
Harcus Posted June 17, 2009 Report Posted June 17, 2009 Just finished "If you're second you are nothing" by Oliver Holt. Well worth a read, a double biography of Shankly and Ferguson. Enjoyed it, but it seemed needlessly anti-Ferguson at times, frequently criticising his character as a man, whilst occasionally indulging in dewy-eyed romanticism about Shankly. It was written at the end of the 2005/6 season and the criticism of Ferguson (similar stuff to this Rob Smyth article - http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2006/jul/31/sport.comment) now looks foolish with regards to what the team has achieved since then. Quote
BobbyBiscuit Posted June 17, 2009 Report Posted June 17, 2009 Oliver Holt is a bit of a smarmy cunt. Quote
Kowalski Posted June 19, 2009 Author Report Posted June 19, 2009 Has anyone read any of David Peace's books (other than The Damned Utd)? Just wondering if they are any good. Quote
TENEMENTFUNSTER Posted June 19, 2009 Report Posted June 19, 2009 Just started another Simon Kernick book, seems very good so far. Quote
Andrew Posted June 19, 2009 Report Posted June 19, 2009 Has anyone read any of David Peace's books (other than The Damned Utd)? Just wondering if they are any good. I have bought 1974, haven't read any of it yet. I will start it soon but it will take my ages to read it as i'm not reading very much atm. Quote
manc_don Posted August 22, 2009 Report Posted August 22, 2009 Read two books so far this summer, Le Carre's A Most Wanted Man, quite enjoyable and obviously quite relevant to today's politics, and Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon, again very interesting and recommend it Just starting The White Tiger by Arabind Adiga. Quote
dave_min Posted August 23, 2009 Report Posted August 23, 2009 Bad Science, by Ben Goldacre. A must for all, especially for those confused and frightened about media scare stories, esp MMR. I picked this up on holiday, an excellent read. Quote
DerBomber Posted August 24, 2009 Report Posted August 24, 2009 Just started reading D-Day by Anthony Beevor. If it is as good as Stalingrad and Berlin then it will be a cracking read. Recently finished D-Day: Piercing the atlantic wall by Robert Kershaw. An excellent book. Also read Join Me by Danny Wallace. Not very challenging but an enjoyable read non the less. Quote
BigAl Posted August 24, 2009 Report Posted August 24, 2009 In last few weeks rattled through the following: Kyle Mills - Fade David Baldacci - Devine Justice Sieg Larrson - The Girl Who Played With Fire Martin Luther King Jr - The Autobiograghpy Incredible to think what went on in the USA during my lifetime Just started on "The Garden Of Last Days" by Andre Dubus III. Waiting in the wings are, R J Elory " A Simple Act Of Violence, Johan Theorin "Echoes From The Dead" and translated from Russian, Andrey Rubanov " Do Time, Get Time" Anyone read "Dissolution" By CJ Sansom ? If so, is it any good Quote
baggy89 Posted October 26, 2009 Report Posted October 26, 2009 Read two books so far this summer, Le Carre's A Most Wanted Man, quite enjoyable and obviously quite relevant to today's politics, and Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon, again very interesting and recommend it Just starting The White Tiger by Arabind Adiga. What did you make of this? I had high hopes but thought it was a little light. I suppose it gave a perspective of India not usually acknowledged but hardly surprising. Liking Balram wasn't really difficult, despite what he did, if that was what the intention was? It certainly didn't cause a crisis of conscience for me, anyway. Also read Flood by Stephen Baxter which I though could have made better use of the subject matter, but again not a bad book. Next up I have Netherland by Joseph O'Neill which has some fairly divided reviews so??? Then I've promised myself I'll go back and try to finish 2666 Quote
manc_don Posted October 26, 2009 Report Posted October 26, 2009 What did you make of this? I had high hopes but thought it was a little light. I suppose it gave a perspective of India not usually acknowledged but hardly surprising. Liking Balram wasn't really difficult, despite what he did, if that was what the intention was? It certainly didn't cause a crisis of conscience for me, anyway. I liked it, and as you said, dealt with an aspect of India that doesn't get written about very often. It was a bit lightweight, certainly from reading the back, you got the impression he was going to go a bit further and make you feel bad for feeling the way you did, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.