Books 2nd Edition, Foreword by m0r1arty Options

[Atara]

I intend to read the Scott Pilgrim books and Through the Looking Glass as soon as I can. I think I spied the former on my laptop somewhere.

I have currently been reading American Gods, which I keep meaning to get back to but have now started A Study in Scarlet as I have always wanted to read Sherlock Holmes books but never got around to it and have been reminded by the movie and TV series that it must be done.

[maian]

A Study in Scarlet is great, and watching the first episode of Sherlock made it extra fun because I could see how Steven Moffat played around with the basic elements of the story.

This post has been edited by maian: Jul 31 2010, 06:20 PM

[Hobbes]

Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon

It's not quite as good as The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, which is still one of the best books I've ever read, but it is damn close.

Have you seen the film version of Wonder Boyswith Downey Jr., Tobey Maguire and Michael Douglas in it? I remember watching it a few years ago and thought it was excellent. Is the book better/worse than the adaptation?

Kavalier and Clay is really good. Incredible scope, and one of the only books where the final third left me pining for the glory days of the opening half. A really great read, if a little long in places.

[maian]

Have you seen the film version of Wonder Boyswith Downey Jr., Tobey Maguire and Michael Douglas in it? I remember watching it a few years ago and thought it was excellent. Is the book better/worse than the adaptation?

I saw it on TV years ago and I loved it. They're quite different in terms of events, from what I remember. (Ellie is probably more of an authority on it than I am.) The book is richer and deeper, as is often the case with adaptations, but they both suit the medium in which the story is being told. If i'd read the book first, I don't think I would have imagined Michael Douglas as Tripp. Downey Jr. as Crabtree is pretty much spot on, though.

This post has been edited by maian: Aug 2 2010, 11:24 AM

[ipse dixit]

Yeah, as you say, Ed, both are very good. As you'd expect, there are bits in the book that have been omitted for the movie (a whole aspect of the plot, in fact), so the book's got more going on. You should definitely read it, Luke, it's superb.

This post has been edited by ipse dixit: Aug 2 2010, 01:18 PM

[maian]

Yeah, as you say, Ed, both are very good. As you'd expect, there are bits in the book that have been omitted for the movie (a whole aspect of the plot, in fact), so the book's got more going on. You should definitely read it, Luke, it's superb.

Is that all the stuff with Emily's family at the farmhouse? Because I couldn't remember that happening in the film.

This post has been edited by maian: Aug 2 2010, 04:57 PM

[Outatime]

I have currently been reading American Gods

I'll be interested to know what you think of that, I read it last year and it took me a while to get into and I think I missed a lot of the subtleties of it.

[ipse dixit]

Is that all the stuff with Emily's family at the farmhouse? Because I couldn't remember that happening in the film.

Yep, that's it.

[maian]

Yep, that's it.

Shame that they had to cut it from the film since it's one of the best bits of the book. At the same time, it would probably have slowed the middle of the film down a lot.

[Shack]

Some excellent recommendations to take with me to the library next time I go. Thanks folks.

Starter For Ten

Very funny. An excellent and speedy read.

The Raphael Affair

Still reading it, but I'm not sure about Iain Pears. It's a bit, well, cliched. Will keep ploughing on.

[Raven]

Starter For Ten

Very funny. An excellent and speedy read.

I really enjoyed that book, right up to the end, which I didn't like at all. I didn't like the way Brian ran away from what happened, that he didn't take responsibility for his actions.

M*A*S*H

Before the film and the TV series, there was the book by Richard Hooker.

An interesting read, especially if you like the film or TV series, as you can see the origins of a lot of the stories and characters, but this is interesting and amusing read in its own right. This isn't an anti-war novel or a satire, in the same vein as Slaughterhouse 5 or Catch-22, it is the story of how people cope in the harshest of conditions, what they do to survive and of the friendships such conditions can forge.

Top stuff.

[Shack]

I really enjoyed that book, right up to the end, which I didn't like at all. I didn't like the way Brian ran away from what happened, that he didn't take responsibility for his actions.

I think I was a bit more indifferent towards him at the end. I wasn't sure about either of his friends from home and I thought he was struggling to work out who he was, which is more or less decided in the last chapter or so.

Finished The Raphael Affair. I don't like art capers.

Now got:
The Understudy - David Nicholls
The Big Bounce - Elmore Leonard
A Lighthearted Look At Murder - Mark Watson

Will see how they get on. I quite wanted some Raymond Chandler but my ickle old liberry didn't have any.

[Raven]

I think I was a bit more indifferent towards him at the end. I wasn't sure about either of his friends from home and I thought he was struggling to work out who he was, which is more or less decided in the last chapter or so.

I certainly didn't like him by the end of the book, I just didn't think he had any integrity. The film has the ending I would have liked the book to have had.

If you liked Nicholls' writing though, I can recommend One Day.

[Shack]

If you liked Nicholls' writing though, I can recommend One Day.

A good shout, but that was the firs tone I read. I liked it before it went a bit Cold Feet at the end.

He can write a very good snarkily attractive woman character.

[Raven]

^ Yes, Emma is a great character.