Here it is... the book thread!

Started by scatcat, November 30, 2007, 03:55:17

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Ulrich

Garry Disher's latest book release "The way it is now" / "Stunde der Flut" (in Germany, I hastily wanna add) was an excellent read:

https://garrydisher.com/crime-novels/novels/

QuoteTwenty years ago Charlie Deravin's mother went missing near the family beach shack – believed murdered; body never found. His father has lived under a cloud of suspicion ever since. Now Charlie's back living in the shack in Menlo Beach, on disciplinary leave from his job with the police sex-crimes unit, and on permanent leave from his marriage. After two decades worrying away at the mystery of his mother's disappearance, he's run out of leads. Then the skeletal remains of two people are found in the excavation of a new building site—and the past comes crashing in on Charlie.
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

Ulrich

After having read 2 of Tony Parsons' books (cheapo editions I found by coincidence), I dediced to get more, just reading this one (which is part 4 of the DC Max Wolfe series):

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33295198-die-last

Quote"It's a brilliant crime novel, a thrilling procedural. Max Wolfe is a wonderfully endearing character, smart and tough and vulnerable, and with Scout (and Stan too) Tony has created so much warmth and tenderness, in a world, a genre, so often devoid of it. His research is wide, deep, impeccable - from forensics to the psychology, procedure to protocol. And boy does he know how to create suspense, and convincing plot lines, which snake and weave, and surprise right until the very end. This is a complex, shocking, very contemporary story, told with utter conviction and authority. I was hooked from page one. Crime writing has a brilliant new star" (Henry Sutton)

'Story-telling as hard-hitting as a leather sap, dialogue that packs all the punch of Wolfe's favourite triple expresso ... and an affection for London that makes this crime writing to die for' - GQ

There are some series that become so special for you that the characters feel like old friends. The Max Wolfe series by Tony Parsons is one of them for me. Now, it has been a while since I read the previous book in the series, but it didn't take me long to get back into the life of Max and his daughter Scout and of course their dog Sam.
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

Ulrich

Bought this book from a musician, will see if or how much I'll enjoy it...

QuoteSeit Jan Bratenstein 1990 im Alter von null Jahren auf die Welt kam, ist er konstant gealtert. Nichtsdestotrotz hat er sich eine kindliche Sicht auf die Welt behalten: Sein Kopf wurde geformt von Comics, Filmen, Musik und durch die treue Schiebermütze. Mittlerweile lebt er den Traum vom nicht gesicherten Einkommen als Musiker, vor allem mit seinem Solo-Antifolk-Projekt »The Black Elephant Band« und dem räudigen Songwriterkollektiv »Folk's Worst Nightmare«. Da das Leben als Musiker finanziell noch nicht unsicher genug ist, verfolgt er, immer wenn Gitarrensaiten reißen, auch eine Karriere als Autor von Comics, Drehbüchern für Webserien und Büchern. Sein Debütroman »Der Mann ohne Piano« erschien 2018 im Carpathia Verlag.
https://www.lovelybooks.de/autor/Jan-Bratenstein/
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

MeltingMan

Quote from: UlrichSeit Jan Bratenstein 1990 im Alter von null Jahren (...)

:D I can't help but think of Sergej Brutalinski. ;)  I'm reading La Torche renversée, a novel from 1925 that Péladan never published in his lifetime. I wonder what else is slumbering in the archives...
En cette nation [Russie] qui n'a pas eu de théoriciens et de démagogues,
les pires ferments de destruction ont apparu. (J. Péladan)

MeltingMan

Quote from: P*r* P*n*rdWe have validated your order. You have chosen the economy rate corresponding to a "Book and Brochure" shipment. We draw your attention to the fact that this method of sending does not offer any follow-up or insurance, no recourse is possible in the event of a problem (which happens very very very rarely) neither with La Poste, nor with us, bookseller.

From a certain distance/weight, registered mail should actually be a matter of course and should not have to be requested by the customer. After all, a used textbook was offered here for well below its value, which is no less careless than thoughtless. It's time to standardize book shipping within the EU. 😡
En cette nation [Russie] qui n'a pas eu de théoriciens et de démagogues,
les pires ferments de destruction ont apparu. (J. Péladan)

Ulrich

I've been reading above mentioned book by J. Bratenstein (quite entertaining), while I was also re-reading an older book by Ulrich Ritzel.

Next up will be a collection of stories by Flannery O'Connor.
https://www.spiegel.de/kultur/literatur/flannery-o-connor-keiner-menschenseele-kann-man-noch-trauen-storys-wieder-aufgelegt-a-1192648.html

Plus I've been reading some issues of "Time" magazine (my mother knows a lady who's married to an American, so he gave those to her for me to read... which is nice)!
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

Ulrich

Could be interesting...
https://www.brooklynvegan.com/thurston-moore-announces-memoir-sonic-life/

QuoteThurston Moore is releasing a memoir, Sonic Life, on October 24 via Doubleday Books in the US and Faber & Faber in the UK. He's also partnered with Books & Books on a limited number of signed copies, which you can pre-order now. Thurston writes:

Sonic Life tells the story of my childhood and teenage years as I fell in love with music (for the most part unbridled rock 'n' roll) and how it drove me to New York City, where I would co-found Sonic Youth. It's an adventure that would take me around the globe throughout the 1980s, 90s and onward, engaging with the magic music of visionaries, artists, and wild angels turning the world on its ear.

This book has been ages in the making, the product of intensive research and deep dives into my memories and emotions. I believe I've been able to capture the whirlwind of experiences that being in Sonic Youth entailed, as well as the creative communities that we found ourselves a part of, first in New York's punk and no wave scenes, and later in the world of underground and alternative rock and the universe of music- beyond- category. In some ways it barely scrapes the surface, but I'm proud of it and anxious to hear what everyone thinks.
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

MeltingMan

I have read various old books and am now at La Rondache, published by Plon-Nourrit in 1906. The typography is so pleasing to the eye that I researched the publisher, unaware that I already owned a number of used paperbacks from that company, just under a different name. I noticed that at the old publisher's address. There's even a US copyright notice inside the book. Truly amazing.  :heart-eyes  The book itself is a kind of crime novel, actually untypical of Péladan.
En cette nation [Russie] qui n'a pas eu de théoriciens et de démagogues,
les pires ferments de destruction ont apparu. (J. Péladan)

Ulrich

Quote from: Ulrich on December 16, 2022, 11:08:08... Tony Parsons' books ... of the DC Max Wolfe series

Well I'm deep into part 6 titled "taken" now (which is the last, so far) and it's been a good read.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41943452-taken
QuoteAfter throughly enjoying and following Tony Parsons contemporary London based crime series that features DC Max Wolfe of Homicide and Serious Crime Command, West End Central since its inception, I have become used to the topical themes and contentious issues they raised. The fifth and previous novel, Girl on Fire, disappointed me immensely largely due to the subject matter - specifically how close to home the jihadi war against the West is - and the political standpoint presented and character development. With boss DCI Pat Whitestone making rash decisions and seeming throughly contemptuous of both her colleagues and the public, and with Max bending over backwards in an effort to play the political correctness card I was all set to ditch the series. However even the death of a central figure in the last story wasn't enough to see me off and with this sixth instalment effectively working as a stand-alone, #taken brings a return to the form of the first four books with some solid crime thriller action. Together with his diminutive and highly experienced boss, forty-year-old DCI Pat Whitestone, and young TDC Joy Adams just a year out of Hendon it sees Max Wolfe in the thick of another high-profile case.

(I do agree with most of this review.)
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

Ulrich

Next up is a book by Chris Carter (author, not to be confused with the creator of the X-Files, who has the same name). I bought a cheapo edition of "The Night Stalker" and it is okay so far.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11449491-the-night-stalker
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

MeltingMan

I'm reading Les Chevaux de Diomède, a nice numbered copy from 1921. Connoisseurs of symbolism will love it. :heart-eyes  On the other hand, Histoire et Guide des cimetières genevois, La vie littéraire en Europe au XIXᵉ siècle and Une ville à la croisée des chemins have just arrived.  :smth023 
En cette nation [Russie] qui n'a pas eu de théoriciens et de démagogues,
les pires ferments de destruction ont apparu. (J. Péladan)

Ulrich

Above mentioned book by Chris Carter was quite disappointing after all (not credible towards the ending: 2 experienced police officers enter an abandoned building without taking flashlights with them, etc.)!

I've been reading another very exciting one (so far at least)! "The Catch" by T.M. Logan:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51962594-the-catch
QuoteEd is delighted to meet his twenty-three year old daughter's fiancé for the first time. Ryan appears to be the perfect future son-in-law. There's just one problem. There's something off about Ryan. Something hidden in the shadows behind his eyes. And it seems that only Ed can see it.

Terrified that his daughter is being drawn in by a psychopath, Ed sets out to uncover her fiancé's dark past - while keeping his own concealed. But no-one believes him. And the more he digs, the more he alienates her and the rest of the family who are convinced that Ryan is 'the one'.

Ed knows different. For reasons of his own, he knows a monster when he sees one...

I have the feeling that I'll finish this way too fast ("page-turner" is the term for it, I guess)!
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

Ulrich

Now I'm looking forward to "Day's End", the next part of Garry Disher's "Hirsch" series, of which I ordered the original language (UK) version (I didn't want to wait for the German translation, which isn't even announced yet). It arrived today.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61400894-day-s-end
QuoteHirsch's rural beat is wide. Daybreak to day's end, dirt roads and dust. Every problem that besets small towns and isolated properties, from unlicensed driving to arson. In the time of the virus, Hirsch is seeing stresses heightened and social divisions cracking wide open. His own tolerance under strain; people getting close to the edge.

QuoteEXCERPT: Out in that country, if you owned a sheep station the size of a European principality you stood tall. If you were a rent paying public servant, like Hirsch, you stood on the summit of Desolation Hill.
Nice sentences to start the book with...  :lol:
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

MeltingMan

Les Chevaux de Diomède contains a dedication to Paul Adam (1862-1920) and so it was obvious to deal with this author. I read En Décor, an autobiographical novel that was published again under the title Jeunesse & Amours de Manuel Héricourt in 1913. Only so much: the title holds what it promises. The book is like a (linguistic) explosion on the first pages. In places, it reads like instructions on the adultery. :evil:  I would not recommend it freshly married people, so not immediately. Since the dark season started, I would like to read it again. 🤓
En cette nation [Russie] qui n'a pas eu de théoriciens et de démagogues,
les pires ferments de destruction ont apparu. (J. Péladan)

Ulrich

Next up I will probably read "Set the Night on Fire" by Robby Krieger:

QuoteFew bands are as shrouded in the murky haze of rock mythology as The Doors, and parsing fact from fiction has been a virtually impossible task. But now, after fifty years, The Doors' notoriously quiet guitarist is finally breaking his silence to set the record straight. Through a series of vignettes, Robby Krieger takes readers back to where it all the pawn shop where he bought his first guitar; the jail cell he was tossed into after a teenage drug bust; his parents' living room where his first songwriting sessions with Jim Morrison took place; the empty bars and backyard parties where The Doors played their first awkward gigs; the studios where their iconic songs were recorded; and the many concert venues that erupted into historic riots. Set the Night on Fire is packed with never-before-told stories from The Doors' most vital years, and offers a fresh perspective on the most infamous moments of the band's career. Krieger also goes into heartbreaking detail about his life's most difficult struggles, ranging from drug addiction to cancer, but he balances out the sorrow with humorous anecdotes about run-ins with unstable fans, famous musicians, and one really angry monk.  Set the Night on Fire is at once an insightful time capsule of the '60s counterculture, a moving reflection on what it means to find oneself as a musician, and a touching tale of a life lived non-traditionally. It's not only a must-read for Doors fans, but an essential volume of American pop culture history.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57007682-set-the-night-on-fire
The holy city breathed like a dying man...