Books 2nd Edition, Foreword by m0r1arty Options

[maian]

My Booky Wook by Russell Brand.

As a reward for finishing a script and an article this morning (why do I do more work on my days off than I ever do when I'm actually working?) I decided to sit out in the sun and read a few pages. In the end, I wound up finishing it. I really enjoyed it and thought it was a frank, honest and funny book that unflinchingly tackles the various addictions Brand has had to overcome; alcohol, drugs, and sex. Unlike a lot of "survivor" tales, though, Brand never hides the fact that he did these things because he enjoyed doing them, and his willingness to so completely grapple with his demons did a lot to establish just what was at stake for him, both personally and professionally. He's got a skill for choosing the perfect phrase to evoke a scene (my favourite: "It was like an orgy directed by Mike Leigh" to describe a particularly grim encounter in a high-rise) and that skill raises the book from being just a series of tawdry anecdotes with a hint of pathos. You really feel like you know him by the end of the book, and whilst it doesn't make me like his comedy any more than I already do (I find him very hit and miss and only really liked his radio show) I came to like him more as a person.

Also, there's lots of sex in it.

[widowspider]

^Sounds like an interesting read, I shall check it out for sure.

I've picked up The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, as it's a classic I have never read and I'm hoping to see a friend's production of a play adaptation this weekend. Hope to have finished it by then.

[Serafina_Pekkala]

My Booky Wook is a brilliant read. He has a real gift of observance and - as you said Ed - no sense of victimhood or pity is enduced. He was just a foolhardy young fella. And I've always liked him much more since reading it.

[sleeping_pirate]

Tom bought me Nick Cave's 'The Death Of Bunny Munro'. I've read mixed reviews about it but am looking forward to giving it a go nonetheless.

[omni]

I drank the kool-aid and read The Girl with the Dragon fire playing hornets' nest. Or something. They're very good books.

[Serafina_Pekkala]

I should read them - shouldn't I? The film put me off.

I hope one day to read them in original svenska.

[widowspider]

I haven't read them either, although I haven't seen the film to put me off. I just tend to be about 2 years behind everyone else when something is cool.

[Shack]

I read that last year, really enjoyed it. Funny, and just a bit clever too. In my head he was like a book version of Bernard Black, albeit less nutty and more organised version (like trying to avoid customers when they ring). I'll say no more, as I don't know how far in you are.

I hope there's a follow up though with these characters, that would be great.

I didn't know his (Bateman) first name actually. I hadn't heard of him previously.

Really enjoyed it. I think I finished it about 2 weeks ago. You're right, reminded me of Black Books too.

This post has been edited by Shack: Jun 19 2010, 02:10 PM

[Everlong]

Really enjoyed it. I think I finished it about 2 weeks ago. You're right, reminded me of Black Books too.

Ah, good. And today, I found that a sequel has been released called "The Day of the Jack Russell". I grabbed in waterstones at lunch. Something else for the 'to read' pile.

[maian]

I finished reading Out of Sight by Elmore Leonard the other day, which I was inspired to read after binging on Justified a few weeks ago. I remember not being too fussed about the film, but reading the book has made me wonder if I just wasn't giving it my full attention, since a book this entertaining and cool surely couldn't make for a dull film. Leonard's prose fizzes with energy as he describes the relationship between Deputy Federal Marshal Karen Sisco and life-long bank robber Jack Foley, whose lives intertwine after Sisco interrupts Foley's escape from prison and the two share a taught trunk ride. The central attraction between these people caught on the opposite sides of the law is much more interesting than the machinations of the plot, which is all to do with a scheme to rob a crooked investment banker, but the interplay between Sisco, Foley and the supporting characters is just delightful.

[Hobbes]

Finished Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler the other day, it's a fabulous novel. Philip Marlowe is now, without doubt, my favourite literary character of all time, his witticisms and the sheer brilliance of Chandler's writing and invention astounded me several times during the book. It manages not only to be a great page-turner, but also a stylish, slick, funny and emotionally involving crime story. Anyone on here who's never read any Chandler, I really cannot recommend him highly enough, he's moving swiftly into my 'favourite author ever' slot and I'm excited to have more Marlowe novels to read. Just started on The High Window and it's already shaping up very nicely, this'll be my fourth Marlowe/Chandler novel and i'm desperate to get through them all. Genuinely fantastic.

[Shack]

On recommendation, reading One Day by David Nicholls.

Very good so far, although I think the unrequited love bit is being shoved unceremoniously into my eyes at the moment.

[maian]

Finished Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler the other day, it's a fabulous novel. Philip Marlowe is now, without doubt, my favourite literary character of all time, his witticisms and the sheer brilliance of Chandler's writing and invention astounded me several times during the book. It manages not only to be a great page-turner, but also a stylish, slick, funny and emotionally involving crime story. Anyone on here who's never read any Chandler, I really cannot recommend him highly enough, he's moving swiftly into my 'favourite author ever' slot and I'm excited to have more Marlowe novels to read. Just started on The High Window and it's already shaping up very nicely, this'll be my fourth Marlowe/Chandler novel and i'm desperate to get through them all. Genuinely fantastic.

Aye, he is a great writer, though I've gradually found myself falling on the Dashiell Hammett side of the classic crime authors debate. I love the way Chandler creates seedy worlds in which you just want to lose yourself and hang out with the characters, but there's something about the raw, visceral thrill of Hammett that I find intoxicating.

I'm currently reading The Idiot by Dostoevsky and Fool by Christopher Moore. I might put The Jerk on rotation on my TV just to complete the set.

This post has been edited by maian: Jul 6 2010, 09:16 AM

[widowspider]

I just finished The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde - I found it a little hard to get engaged in the story for some reason. It's an interesting plot, but I kept putting it down and picking it back up again. Beautiful writing style, for sure, but something about it didn't grab me.

I'm now reading The Black Tower by Louis Bayard, which is set during the French Restoration and is all about the lost Dauphin and Vidocq, the infamous detective. Absorbing so far.

[omni]

I'm currently back to reading Elmer Gantry, interpersed with Sloane Crosley's I Was Told There'd Be Cake and a collection of the writings of one Thomas Paine.