The Hit List
-
Mike
- Site Admin
- Posts: 7751
- Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2005 6:18 pm
- Spam Filter: Yes
- Location: Stockport, UK
- Contact:
That really made me laugh out loud. I am a bit sad aint I.Mike
-------------------------------------
http://www.rileyuk.co.uk
Also see: http://www.dragonsfoot.org
-------------------------------------
http://www.rileyuk.co.uk
Also see: http://www.dragonsfoot.org
I concur Mr_e; this is one of the best books i've ever read. top 5 defo. i pinched my copy from a bookshelf in the house in Lamu where we stayed in Kenya. swaps were allowed but i left some trashy chick lit about an abba tribute band, so the exchange wasn't exactly fair. i read it while in Kenya and i love to have books that i get to associate with places. i finished reading Memoirs of a Geisha on Mission Beach in Queensland. i devoured the Da Vinci Code on a 3 day trip to Amsterdam. i read Great Expectations while on holiday in Cyprus. it's ace.mr_e wrote:The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
it's a stunning book. Very simple, detached writing, but it provides a stark contrast with the events that unfold, and works well. Centred mostly around Afghanistan, it's pretty much about loss, guilt and redemption. Left me in shock and occasionally tears in places. At the end of the day, art is about emotion, feeling alive, and this does it for me.
i digress.
i love the book for its poetic quality and i just thought some of the imagery was stunning. After a night of snow in Kabul, the sky in the morning is a "blameless blue". simple yet beautiful. and the test is it's left a lasting impression. also, it is truly horrific in places. i have never been more aghast or shocked by something i've seen in a fictional work.
The crazy gets claustrophobic!
He has a new book coming out in the next year: A Thousand Splendid Suns.
The "blameless blue" line also sets up a nice contrast with the events that unfold later on in the chapter. Style-wise, the writing doesn't get overly controlling in terms of imagery, it just leaves you to fill in the details, which makes some parts all the more horrific.
I know what you mean about place associations: I can safely say I'll think of Spain when The Time Traveller's Wife comes up in conversation.
The "blameless blue" line also sets up a nice contrast with the events that unfold later on in the chapter. Style-wise, the writing doesn't get overly controlling in terms of imagery, it just leaves you to fill in the details, which makes some parts all the more horrific.
I know what you mean about place associations: I can safely say I'll think of Spain when The Time Traveller's Wife comes up in conversation.
Ceci n'est pas une signature.
My annual NYE song
My annual NYE song
-
BarcelonAl
- Master of the South Wind
- Posts: 1506
- Joined: Mon Jun 19, 2006 1:25 pm
- Location: Manchester
I had read a recommendation somewhere else for The Kite Runner (probably some Amazon related email, I get about a hundred a day!), and was interested. Now that I people I know have read it and enjoyed it, I shall certainly be putting it high on my list. Merci Beaucoup guys! :)
Nothing says "romance" like a kidnapped injured woman!
-
Mike
- Site Admin
- Posts: 7751
- Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2005 6:18 pm
- Spam Filter: Yes
- Location: Stockport, UK
- Contact:
The Accidental - Ali Smith
The accidental follows a lackluster family holiday in Norfolk. The family starts to come apart at the seams and this book follows how those cracks appear over time.
The book is written without any attempt to indicate speech. The author makes it almost difficult to follow where one thought leaves off and talking begins. It is very entertaining so far for the same reason! :D
Will rate this when I have finished reading it.
The accidental follows a lackluster family holiday in Norfolk. The family starts to come apart at the seams and this book follows how those cracks appear over time.
The book is written without any attempt to indicate speech. The author makes it almost difficult to follow where one thought leaves off and talking begins. It is very entertaining so far for the same reason! :D
Will rate this when I have finished reading it.
Last edited by Mike on Sun Nov 26, 2006 11:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
Mike
-------------------------------------
http://www.rileyuk.co.uk
Also see: http://www.dragonsfoot.org
-------------------------------------
http://www.rileyuk.co.uk
Also see: http://www.dragonsfoot.org
AMERICAN HARDCORE - A Tribal History by Steve Blush
stop reading now because none of you will find any point of reference or value in this text apart from me, and i?m only writing this because some things are important enough to say even if no one is listening. documenting the rise and fall of this self-destructive subculture of music, american hardcore is laid bare in all its brutal and unrewarding glory, from it?s birth as the radical movement punk rock should have been to the bitter end just six years later when everything had turned into a twisted parody of itself and what it was supposed to be fighting against
amassing a great collection of stunningly evocative photographs, gig flyers and record covers from the era adds considerable punch to the in-depth interviews with the people involved as band members or just part of the general scene, none of whom can hide behind ego or selective memories as every angle is covered and the bullshit becomes obvious. exhaustive descriptions of what the crowds were like all across america bring to life the often violent nature of this musical revolution, detailing the appeals of teenage comradeship, purging anger through guitar amps and the social-political awareness of the movement, strongly contrasted with the woes of police brutality, drug-fuelled carnage and the ever present threat of skinhead fascism.
this is a no holes barred study of what went down from the squalor of penniless bands crammed into knackered vans crawling across the country to play in shit-heap clubs with tiny audiences of likeminded drops outs and outcasts, to the greater meaning of what the hard slog represented; a huge ?fuck you? to the clueless self-indulgent crap of commercial music. a statement made all the more bitter because the whole thing was always doomed to failure; bands needed money to survive so either sold out to the record companies or died out because the attitude was impossible to sustain.
the unsentimental recording of this era adds considerable weight to hardcore?s legacy because how the hell do you make kids doing little worse than wearing leather jackets having seven shades of shit beaten out of them by the LAPD sound like fun? a seminal book about music?s forgotten rebellion summed up perfectly by the cover picture; danny spira of the band wasted youth screaming into a microphone smeared in blood that could be his or just as easily someone else?s.
stop reading now because none of you will find any point of reference or value in this text apart from me, and i?m only writing this because some things are important enough to say even if no one is listening. documenting the rise and fall of this self-destructive subculture of music, american hardcore is laid bare in all its brutal and unrewarding glory, from it?s birth as the radical movement punk rock should have been to the bitter end just six years later when everything had turned into a twisted parody of itself and what it was supposed to be fighting against
amassing a great collection of stunningly evocative photographs, gig flyers and record covers from the era adds considerable punch to the in-depth interviews with the people involved as band members or just part of the general scene, none of whom can hide behind ego or selective memories as every angle is covered and the bullshit becomes obvious. exhaustive descriptions of what the crowds were like all across america bring to life the often violent nature of this musical revolution, detailing the appeals of teenage comradeship, purging anger through guitar amps and the social-political awareness of the movement, strongly contrasted with the woes of police brutality, drug-fuelled carnage and the ever present threat of skinhead fascism.
this is a no holes barred study of what went down from the squalor of penniless bands crammed into knackered vans crawling across the country to play in shit-heap clubs with tiny audiences of likeminded drops outs and outcasts, to the greater meaning of what the hard slog represented; a huge ?fuck you? to the clueless self-indulgent crap of commercial music. a statement made all the more bitter because the whole thing was always doomed to failure; bands needed money to survive so either sold out to the record companies or died out because the attitude was impossible to sustain.
the unsentimental recording of this era adds considerable weight to hardcore?s legacy because how the hell do you make kids doing little worse than wearing leather jackets having seven shades of shit beaten out of them by the LAPD sound like fun? a seminal book about music?s forgotten rebellion summed up perfectly by the cover picture; danny spira of the band wasted youth screaming into a microphone smeared in blood that could be his or just as easily someone else?s.
I came, I saw, I bought the T-shirt
I read it all, yay me! I've seen that photo, looks like Danny had a bust lip, or tore a piece out of one of the crowd. Hardcore went the same way as black metal, it was pretty much doomed for similar reasons to those you mentioned. I think punk's going to be my next musical stop, because The Exploited and Black Flag are too good to ignore.
The Accidental sounds similar to Ulysses, another book which I've still not read.
The Accidental sounds similar to Ulysses, another book which I've still not read.
Ceci n'est pas une signature.
My annual NYE song
My annual NYE song
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Old Major, the boar, dreams of farms run by animals for animals, with liberty and equality for all. When the animals of Manor Farm, led by the pigs Napoleon and Snowball, drive out Farmer Jones and set up Animal Farm the dream seems to be coming true. However, as the pigs become more powerful, Old Major's vision turns horribly sour.
The book has two meanings - the other one being that it is based on the Russian Revolution of 1914 and the Bolshevik uprising involving Lenin and Trotsky and Stalin. Incidentally, that is one of my favourite pieces of history due to the supremely knowledgeable and interesting lecturer that was Malcolm Wallace at Leigh College.
I would say that book is a scarily accurate depiction of events in a child-like them which creates a very scary reflection of human nature. My favourite part is when you re-read it and trace the development of Napoleon and the treatment of Boxer. The reason I have put this book on is because I have just studied it with my Year 9 top set and they thought it was, in their words, ''cool''. They really got into it and loved it.
Old Major, the boar, dreams of farms run by animals for animals, with liberty and equality for all. When the animals of Manor Farm, led by the pigs Napoleon and Snowball, drive out Farmer Jones and set up Animal Farm the dream seems to be coming true. However, as the pigs become more powerful, Old Major's vision turns horribly sour.
The book has two meanings - the other one being that it is based on the Russian Revolution of 1914 and the Bolshevik uprising involving Lenin and Trotsky and Stalin. Incidentally, that is one of my favourite pieces of history due to the supremely knowledgeable and interesting lecturer that was Malcolm Wallace at Leigh College.
I would say that book is a scarily accurate depiction of events in a child-like them which creates a very scary reflection of human nature. My favourite part is when you re-read it and trace the development of Napoleon and the treatment of Boxer. The reason I have put this book on is because I have just studied it with my Year 9 top set and they thought it was, in their words, ''cool''. They really got into it and loved it.
-
Mike
- Site Admin
- Posts: 7751
- Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2005 6:18 pm
- Spam Filter: Yes
- Location: Stockport, UK
- Contact:
Second the Orwell. Very good. Liked Road to Wigan Pier but I don't remember much about it now. I must re-read it some time soon to refresh my memory.
Mike
-------------------------------------
http://www.rileyuk.co.uk
Also see: http://www.dragonsfoot.org
-------------------------------------
http://www.rileyuk.co.uk
Also see: http://www.dragonsfoot.org
The Life and Times of the Thunderbold Kid by Bill Bryson
Some say that the first hint that Bill Bryson was not of Planet Earth was when his mother sent him to school in lime-green Capri pants. Others think it all started with his discovery, at the age of six, of a woollen jersey of rare fineness. Across the moth-holed chest was a golden thunderbolt. It may have looked like an old college football sweater, but young Bryson knew better. It was obviously the Sacred Jersey of Zap, and proved that he had been placed with this innoccuous family in the middle of America to fly, become invisible, shoot guns out of people's hands from a distance, and wear his underpants over his jeans in the manner of Superman
This is not a travel book like most of his fantastic offerings but it is written in that lazy, comical style that Bryson has. In his memoirs, he transports the reader back in time to explore the ordinary kid he once was, and the curious world of 1950s America. It is, in many ways, a book about growing up in a specific time and place but Bryson puts his mark on it and creates some supremely funny moments as well as some rather poignant moments, but they are mainly funny.
Not as funny as his travel books - especially the rant against the French - but it is a good yarn and a biography that is worth a read if you like Bryson anywhere near as much as I do.
Some say that the first hint that Bill Bryson was not of Planet Earth was when his mother sent him to school in lime-green Capri pants. Others think it all started with his discovery, at the age of six, of a woollen jersey of rare fineness. Across the moth-holed chest was a golden thunderbolt. It may have looked like an old college football sweater, but young Bryson knew better. It was obviously the Sacred Jersey of Zap, and proved that he had been placed with this innoccuous family in the middle of America to fly, become invisible, shoot guns out of people's hands from a distance, and wear his underpants over his jeans in the manner of Superman
This is not a travel book like most of his fantastic offerings but it is written in that lazy, comical style that Bryson has. In his memoirs, he transports the reader back in time to explore the ordinary kid he once was, and the curious world of 1950s America. It is, in many ways, a book about growing up in a specific time and place but Bryson puts his mark on it and creates some supremely funny moments as well as some rather poignant moments, but they are mainly funny.
Not as funny as his travel books - especially the rant against the French - but it is a good yarn and a biography that is worth a read if you like Bryson anywhere near as much as I do.