Rate the last book you've read!

Dan Brown - The Lost Symbol

Really really disappointed! I really enjoyed all of his other book and was so bitterly disappointed.... its like writing by numbers...

 
Polythene Girl
*mwah*

 

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
10/10
 
Read it for the second time, just to check it was as good as I remembered
 
I love the bits that are narrated by Death, thought it was an interesting idea.

Download 03, 05, 06, 07, 09, 10, 11, 12
Leeds 06
Rock am Ring 08
Sonisphere 09, 10
Bilbao BBK 10
Glastonbury 98

I've just started reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon. Only up to Chapter 37* but already it is one of the most remarkable books I've read. For those who don't know, it is a detective novel told from the perspective and in the style of a 15 year old boy with some form of autism, possibly Asperger's Syndrome. Brilliantly conceived and written, I can't wait to see how it develops.
 
 
* - that's not as much as it sounds - the narrator, Christopher, numbers his chapters only with prime numbers.
 

**

Alan Carr - Look Who It Is
Pretty good, he is a funny bloke and its still a entertaining read second time around  8/10

Maus
Everything i was expecting and more, a great dramatic story told in a unique way..i loved the art too.
9/10

ORIGINAL: Nemoness

Want To Play - PJ Tracy. 10/10

I haven't read a book this good in such a long time. I read it in just over 2 days, I couldn't put it down.

That takes me back years... amazing book, sequel is quality as well but for some reason I never read any of the others... [&o]

 

Dark Calling by Darren Shan 7/10 

Derren Brown
The View
Leeds Fest
The Specials 

ORIGINAL: littlemisswednesday

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
10/10

Read it for the second time, just to check it was as good as I remembered

I love the bits that are narrated by Death, thought it was an interesting idea.

ORIGINAL: Jez

I've just started reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon. Only up to Chapter 37* but already it is one of the most remarkable books I've read. For those who don't know, it is a detective novel told from the perspective and in the style of a 15 year old boy with some form of autism, possibly Asperger's Syndrome. Brilliantly conceived and written, I can't wait to see how it develops.

Both absolutely brilliant books, I highly recommend them to anyone that hasn't read them yet.

I'm still wading through The Name of the Rose, I'm sure i'll finish it one day!

A serial in Chums from 1897-8 called "Hunji The Hindoo", by Harry Blyth (who also created Sexton Blake).
Rating: Crap, he was actually an awful writer. He died before it was completley published, though

Also a Blyth story from an 1894 issue of the Halfpenny Marvel (reprinted in a book, i don't have the original issue) called The Accusing Shadow, which features a French detective calledn Jules Gervaise, who also appears in the first Sexton Blake story.
Rating: Good, for Harry Blyth, as in there's no completley unexplained building collapses or supernatural creatures. Still plenty of bizarre coincidences to drive the plot forwards though...

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

As with most 'classics' it can never live up to the amount of hype it has received over the years but it was still excellent nonetheless.

"Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity."

Ozzy Osbourne Bio - Absolutely amazing! Dont think i have ever actually laughed out loud at a book before until i read this. He really has had an unbelievable life and this book is a great insight into all the major ups and down that have came his way. A great read and a must for any fan - 10/10

 

 

Stephen King - Under The Dome 10/10
 
I blasted through this 1000+ page gem in under a week, scary in a real world ugly side of humanity way. Reminded me of Lord Of The Flies & The Wave due to the strong theme of unsuitable people thrust into a situation where having too much power is most definately a bad thing.
 
Also a very satisfying ending, the only downside was I dissapointed I'd finished the book - very much like how I feel whenever I finish reading The Stand

ORIGINAL: senor monkey rock

ORIGINAL: littlemisswednesday

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
10/10

Read it for the second time, just to check it was as good as I remembered

I love the bits that are narrated by Death, thought it was an interesting idea.

ORIGINAL: Jez

I've just started reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon. Only up to Chapter 37* but already it is one of the most remarkable books I've read. For those who don't know, it is a detective novel told from the perspective and in the style of a 15 year old boy with some form of autism, possibly Asperger's Syndrome. Brilliantly conceived and written, I can't wait to see how it develops.

Both absolutely brilliant books, I highly recommend them to anyone that hasn't read them yet.

I'm still wading through The Name of the Rose, I'm sure i'll finish it one day!

 
Have to agree on the Book Thief, possibly the best book I've ever read, I actually was sobbing at the end.  Although I hated the Curious Incident.., I know I'm in the minority but I just didn't enjoy it at all.  Last book I read though was Freakonomics which was pretty entertaining and thought provoking in parts.

Above all; to thine own self be true

ORIGINAL: plym_rocker

ORIGINAL: senor monkey rock

ORIGINAL: littlemisswednesday

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
10/10

Read it for the second time, just to check it was as good as I remembered

I love the bits that are narrated by Death, thought it was an interesting idea.

ORIGINAL: Jez

I've just started reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon. Only up to Chapter 37* but already it is one of the most remarkable books I've read. For those who don't know, it is a detective novel told from the perspective and in the style of a 15 year old boy with some form of autism, possibly Asperger's Syndrome. Brilliantly conceived and written, I can't wait to see how it develops.

Both absolutely brilliant books, I highly recommend them to anyone that hasn't read them yet.

I'm still wading through The Name of the Rose, I'm sure i'll finish it one day!

Have to agree on the Book Thief, possibly the best book I've ever read, I actually was sobbing at the end.  Although I hated the Curious Incident.., I know I'm in the minority but I just didn't enjoy it at all.  Last book I read though was Freakonomics which was pretty entertaining and thought provoking in parts.

I've just finished freakonomics, really enjoyed it. Just started Superfreakonomics!

 

Just finished reading Bag of Bones by Stephen King again, i can't get enought of this book.
I'm going on my jollys next week and wondering whether to take Ozzys biography or Stephen King at the movies with me, what do you all think?

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/jenii_b/d06.png http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/jenii_b/d07.png http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/jenii_b/d08.png http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/jenii_b/dis09-1.png

ORIGINAL: Dittohead

Stephen King - Under The Dome 10/10

I blasted through this 1000+ page gem in under a week, scary in a real world ugly side of humanity way. Reminded me of Lord Of The Flies & The Wave due to the strong theme of unsuitable people thrust into a situation where having too much power is most definately a bad thing.

Also a very satisfying ending, the only downside was I dissapointed I'd finished the book - very much like how I feel whenever I finish reading The Stand

 
Couldn't agree more - brilliant book.
 
I've just started the new Dark Tower graphic novel, Fall of Gilead - very good so far. It's the 4th of a series based on Stephen King's epic Dark Tower series and mostly new story - it's pretty much all stuff that was hinted at in the novels but not actually in them.
 
Last novel was Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill - bought this then found out he was Stephen King's son. Good book about an aging rock star who buys a ghost on the internet. Pretty creepy and cracks along at a good pace.

Natsume Soseki - Kusamakura

9/10 Oddly brilliant, great character, gives you a very conflicted image of the guy which stops you from wanting it to be a love story type book.

RIP Joe                                    "You say the hill's too steep to climb.

Trainspotting - Irvine Welsh... I've read this a few times now and I still love reading it. If you can get your head around the dialect then it's a blast but I suppose it can be frustrating if you can't read it without having to stop and read the paragraph again. As a big Irvine Welsh fan I highly recommend it of course, but is well worth reading.

10/10

 

lord of the rings: the fellowship of the ring - 8/10

i know i'm majorly late on LOTR, but i did really enjoy this. very wordy and over-descriptive in places, and sometimes it's really slow-going, but it's ultimately worth it. i actually feel for the characters, even the ones i don't like too much, and tolkien has put immense effort into the whole lore of middle-earth and the backstories of all the characters and even the geography of middle-earth. about half-way through the two towers at the moment, which i am also enjoying.

also read a season with verona by tim parks, it's basically him spending a season following a football team in italy (hellas verona), home and away games, travelling with their hardcore fans and all the drama that comes with them. doesn't sound like much, but it's very interesting, as it also includes quite a bit about italian culture and people. would give it 7/10. i've got the miracle of castel di sangro next, which is similar.

Snow Blind by PJ Tracy; 10/10.
I've really got in to her books lately, and this one was just as good, if not better, than Want To Play. The only downside was the ending not going the way I felt it should, but that's just me being selfish and pedantic [8D]

Dracula The Un-dead

8/10

Found it quite hard to get into, but overall i liked it. Still a vampire book afterall :P

You got the touch You got the power!!!!

Barefoot Gen - 10/10

I made the mistake of picking this up earlier, two hours later and I'm depressed (again), shocked (again) and generally upset (once more). What an incredible book. I also have volume two but haven't managed to face volume three yet.

RIP Joe                                    "You say the hill's too steep to climb.

Jez

I've just started reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon. Only up to Chapter 37* but already it is one of the most remarkable books I've read. For those who don't know, it is a detective novel told from the perspective and in the style of a 15 year old boy with some form of autism, possibly Asperger's Syndrome. Brilliantly conceived and written, I can't wait to see how it develops.


* - that's not as much as it sounds - the narrator, Christopher, numbers his chapters only with prime numbers.

Well it certainly didn't go where I expected it to. A very good read; in turns funny, sad, frustrating. You do get into Christopher's mind, but using your own mind and not his, which is where the frustration lies. You keep thinking 'Go on, get on with it, just do it' then remember he can't. Ultimately I think it was slightly disappointing, though explaining why I think so might spoil it for anyone who wants to read it. Still worthy of a 9 though.
 

**

8.5/10

Not as good as Are You Dave Gorman? but still very funny and entertaining.

Currently reading:

currently reading the True Blood books. Very basic reads but gives me something to talk about with the lasses at work plus the story line is not too bad.

Quality of the writing - 4/10
enjoyment of reading - 7/10

Waterlands - Charlotte Roche

7/10

Not a book for the faint hearted, or one to be read whilst eating if I'm honest.
It's a really gritty and graphic account of a young girls time in hospital. I won't go into too much detail as the book sort of does that for you. You certainly need to be open minded when reading this though.

Tolstoy - A Confession 8/10

A bit meandering but a great little guide to some of his guiding principles as he headed into the end of his career (post W+P and Karenina)

Currently tackling S/Z by Barthes on my travels and The Amazing Maurice at home.

RIP Joe                                    "You say the hill's too steep to climb.

Dead Run by PJ Tracy - 10/10
So I've had a bit of an obsession with their books lately, and this one is probably one of the best.

Jez; That book you've just read sounds outstanding.

not sure if it counts but i have finished the first book in Bolano's epic 2666 and it was an amazing read.

9.5/10 and looking forward to the second part.

sabbathbloodysabbath

not sure if it counts but i have finished the first book in Bolano's epic 2666 and it was an amazing read.

Meets my specifications

RIP Joe                                    "You say the hill's too steep to climb.

willow

Waterlands - Charlotte Roche

7/10

Not a book for the faint hearted, or one to be read whilst eating if I'm honest.
It's a really gritty and graphic account of a young girls time in hospital. I won't go into too much detail as the book sort of does that for you. You certainly need to be open minded when reading this though.

I've read a bit of this! I didn't have the money to actually buy it at the time though it looked really interesting in a slightly nasty sort of way. It was in the Cult section in Waterstones which I used to peruse a lot for more original things to read.

 

Sequoia Throne 

It's all fun and games, until someone posts a picture of Nash. 

 

Running with Scissors...Augusten Burroughs
10/10
Fantastic book,  such a page turner. You just need to know what happens next. There isnt any kind of exact storyline he just highlights important, rather amusing points of his life. I'd suggest that most people read this with an open mind as alot of it is disturbing but in a fantastic funny way.

Roo.

willow

Waterlands - Charlotte Roche

7/10

Not a book for the faint hearted, or one to be read whilst eating if I'm honest.
It's a really gritty and graphic account of a young girls time in hospital. I won't go into too much detail as the book sort of does that for you. You certainly need to be open minded when reading this though.

I've read a bit of this! I didn't have the money to actually buy it at the time though it looked really interesting in a slightly nasty sort of way. It was in the Cult section in Waterstones which I used to peruse a lot for more original things to read.

Yeah that's where I found it.  I was browsing through when I had a spare 20 minutes (my downfall to my finances), saw it and thought "eurgh.....I must get this!".

Just finished Shutter Island. Can't wait to see the film and see what Scorcese has done with it! 9/10

The Book of Sand by Jorge Luis Borges. I'd give it a 8/10. For those of you who like metaphysical, unusual, thought provoking short stories, Borges is the author for you.

"I wanted no fence against fraud or oppression; no bullies, drunkards, or strolling whores: no ranting, lewd, expensive wives: no overbearing, quarrelsome, noisy, roaring, empty, conceited, swearing companions . . ."

American Gods Neil Gaimen  10/10
3/4 way through Orcs Stan Nicholls so far so good
Anything by David Gemmel worth reading best author ever especially Legend series

Also recently read David Farland The Sum of all men,Brotherhood of the wolf & Wizard born if you are a bit bored of repetitve fantasy this series will reignite the flame as its awesome and compulsive reading ,

highly reccomended

James Clemens - Wit'ch Fire - 8.5/10

I've read it about a million times already, and it's the first in a series of five which I very rarely see over here in the UK. Published by Del Rey, meaning high fantasy which is a genre I'm fussy about.
Whilst all books in the series are pretty generic on the face of it, the writing itself plus the multiple plot strands and twists really made it stand out for me. It's not often I can re-read something so many times without getting bored, but I still get caught up in these every time, which is why I think they're so great.

 

Sequoia Throne 

It's all fun and games, until someone posts a picture of Nash. 

 

Mrs Drafty
Currently reading:

Finished this the other day, 9/10. The part where Danny replies to all the letters that his childhood friend sent him when they were younger, only to find out that he died in a car crash 12 years earlier, saddened me.

Currently reading:

8/10
Really Weird So It Suits Me Perfectly!

 

I have Alex boese's book  Elephant's on acid -  I think it's wonderful :)
I also own his other two which are just as good ^_^ full of really ridiculous facts and experiments.