A jolly good read?

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

I got another decent haul of books for Christmas to add to the pile from last year's birthday/Christmas that I still haven't read yet!

I had an enjoyable time doing as much reading as possible over the Christmas break (and maybe munching too many chocolates while doing so!)

I started and finished 'Everybody Loves out Town: A History of Grunge' by Mark Yarm. As a good chunk of the music I listen to is still 90s rock, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The whole book is made up from interviews of the people who lived through it and there were plenty of bands I didn't know about in there along with the more famous big ones.

I then whizzed through 'Not Tonight Josephine: A Road Trip Through Small Town America' by George Mahood. This has been on my Amazon wishlist for about 3 years and somebody finally bought it me for Christmas. George bought a car in New York and drove from New York to the West Coast with his best mate and then drove back again with his girlfriend. I usually end up disappointed whenever I read travel memoirs but this one was surprisingly good!

I am now onto 'East of Eden' by John Steinbeck. I have never read any Steinbeck before so had no idea what to expect from this but I am hooked already. I am only 100 pages in but it gives me the similar epic feeling I got while reading 'Lonesome Dove' (which is one of my favourite novels). I will definitely be checking out some of his other novels after this one.

 

[Keef]

George Mahood did a lands end to John o’groats walk starting in just his pants and acquired clothes and other stuff along the way, free country a penniless walk the length of the uk

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

George Mahood did a lands end to John o’groats walk starting in just his pants and acquired clothes and other stuff along the way, free country a penniless walk the length of the uk

Yeah, I've seen that. I'll probably check it out at some point.

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

Also, anybody on here who is into fantasty novels (or has kids into fantasy)?

My son will be 10 in 3 weeks and he is a mammoth reader and really enjoys fantasy novels so I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions that would be suitable for him?

He's probably a quite advanced reader for his age (he has read 2 out of 3 of the LOTR books for example, he did give up on the 3rd book though) so they don't have to be childrens books as long as they are suitable for someone of his age.

From memory, some of the fantasy series that he has particularly enjoyed are:

The Summoner Series by Taran Matharu
The Bartimaeus books by Jonathan Stroud
Songs of Chaos by Michael R Miller
The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

 

[sycophantia]

George Mahood did a lands end to John o’groats walk starting in just his pants and acquired clothes and other stuff along the way, free country a penniless walk the length of the uk

I like George Mahmood, read a few, will check out Not Tonight Josephine.
Although it's possible I've already read it and forgot.

 

[sycophantia]

Also, anybody on here who is into fantasty novels (or has kids into fantasy)?

My son will be 10 in 3 weeks and he is a mammoth reader and really enjoys fantasy novels so I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions that would be suitable for him?

He's probably a quite advanced reader for his age (he has read 2 out of 3 of the LOTR books for example, he did give up on the 3rd book though) so they don't have to be childrens books as long as they are suitable for someone of his age.

From memory, some of the fantasy series that he has particularly enjoyed are:

The Summoner Series by Taran Matharu
The Bartimaeus books by Jonathan Stroud
Songs of Chaos by Michael R Miller
The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

My 9 year old granddaughter enjoyed The Percy Jackson books....can't remember the author.

 

[BillyDee]

Also, anybody on here who is into fantasty novels (or has kids into fantasy)?

My son will be 10 in 3 weeks and he is a mammoth reader and really enjoys fantasy novels so I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions that would be suitable for him?

The Discworld series.
Apparently it's advised to skip the first two these days, but I liked them as a kid.

 

[sycophantia]

My 9 year old granddaughter enjoyed The Percy Jackson books....can't remember the author.

Also, if he's OK with more adult books, it might be worth checking out the David Eddings stuff. The Belgariad series is a similar story to LOTR but a more modern style and some humour in it.
It's a while since I read them but as far as I remember, there was no swearing or sex in them but it would be worth you proof reading them first.

 

[lemonjelly]

Also, anybody on here who is into fantasty novels (or has kids into fantasy)?

My son will be 10 in 3 weeks and he is a mammoth reader and really enjoys fantasy novels so I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions that would be suitable for him?

He's probably a quite advanced reader for his age (he has read 2 out of 3 of the LOTR books for example, he did give up on the 3rd book though) so they don't have to be childrens books as long as they are suitable for someone of his age.

From memory, some of the fantasy series that he has particularly enjoyed are:

The Summoner Series by Taran Matharu
The Bartimaeus books by Jonathan Stroud
Songs of Chaos by Michael R Miller
The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

Philip Pullmans books are good imo. The first 3 of the His Dark Materials are crackers! I still haven't read the first 2 books in the Book of Dust follow ups, as I want to binge all 3 one after the other when they come out (hoping for a release this year, he is apparently editing the final book now).

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

Philip Pullmans books are good imo. The first 3 of the His Dark Materials are crackers! I still haven't read the first 2 books in the Book of Dust follow ups, as I want to binge all 3 one after the other when they come out (hoping for a release this year, he is apparently editing the final book now).

We did randomly get the His Dark Materials books delivered by Amazon over Christmas (with no note to say who they were from) so we’ve given them to him to read.

I’ve seen the TV show but never read them myself.

 

[lemonjelly]

I think you'd enjoy the books tbh @Tyrannosaurus Dan - give them a go. Might be a great thing for you and your lad to chat about too!

 

[The Bear]

The Discworld series.
Apparently it's advised to skip the first two these days, but I liked them as a kid.

I second this. I read them as a teenager and loved them.

Nowt wrong with the first two still, as I re-read them all again early last year. Yes they are all about Rincewind/Wizards but that's no bad thing.

 

[Doctor Doog]

I got another decent haul of books for Christmas to add to the pile from last year's birthday/Christmas that I still haven't read yet!

I had an enjoyable time doing as much reading as possible over the Christmas break (and maybe munching too many chocolates while doing so!)

I started and finished 'Everybody Loves out Town: A History of Grunge' by Mark Yarm. As a good chunk of the music I listen to is still 90s rock, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The whole book is made up from interviews of the people who lived through it and there were plenty of bands I didn't know about in there along with the more famous big ones.

I then whizzed through 'Not Tonight Josephine: A Road Trip Through Small Town America' by George Mahood. This has been on my Amazon wishlist for about 3 years and somebody finally bought it me for Christmas. George bought a car in New York and drove from New York to the West Coast with his best mate and then drove back again with his girlfriend. I usually end up disappointed whenever I read travel memoirs but this one was surprisingly good!

I am now onto 'East of Eden' by John Steinbeck. I have never read any Steinbeck before so had no idea what to expect from this but I am hooked already. I am only 100 pages in but it gives me the similar epic feeling I got while reading 'Lonesome Dove' (which is one of my favourite novels). I will definitely be checking out some of his other novels after this one.

Steinbeck's my favourite author, I have read pretty much everything he wrote. The Grapes of Wrath is the obvious classic, but I would also recommend Cannery Row and The Moon is Down.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

The belgariad s a classic

The wheel of time should keep them bisy