A jolly good read?

[sycophantia]

Agree with most of the above, George Mahmood is worth checking out, humerous, easy to read stuff, first one I read was Free Ride, about him and a mate cycling from Lands End to John O Groats on no money.
I'm a big reader of Motorcycle Travel books, Jupiters Travels was the first one I read, in the same genre, Sam Manicom is worth a look and for a more irreverant style, have a look at Oisin Hughes. Lois Pryce gives a female view of the same subject.

 

[Keef]

Last bit of recommending,any of Robert service books,biographies of Stalin,Lenin and Trotsky are very readable,covers everything you need to know,and chapters tend to be 10-15 pages long,(not like Simon sebag-montifiore when one of his chapters in a Stalin biography was 90 pages!) he writes a lot about Russia and communism as well.

Finally,stasiland by Anna funder,interviews a couple of people who were on the wrong end of Stasi investigations in East Germany and how badly their life was affected,and a couple of Stasi informers and staff

 

[lemonjelly]

https://twitter.com/grumpwitch/status/1128686834563866629

#24! :icon_lol:

 

[Newbridge Wolf]

Sadly number 16 is very true and if you have visited central library it makes you question whether it is a library or a refuge centre.

Sad that there is clearly a lack of proper facilities for those less fortunate that they have to use the library.

 

[Newbridge Wolf]

I read dead mans trousers the other day by Welsh, bloody good romp. I feel so much attachment to those characters. Dont let T2 put you off (a really poor interpretation of Porno) Welsh is at his creative best when working with these characters, it is his life story and experiences he is drawing from.

 

[lemonjelly]

I read Dead Mens Trousers last year. Thought it was fucking brilliant!

With hindsight, it is fairly obvious who the dead man will be. However, whilst reading Welsh is brilliant at leaving you guessing, and I was never certain!

Did you ever read skagboys newbridge?

 

[Newbridge Wolf]

Yes read it last year, very good book. It was so powerful in its description of addiction it was something that was difficult yet compelling to continue reading. I'll be honest it brought up some difficult memories from my own life which I thought I had dealt with

I read blade artist as well which was enjoyable enough although I find begbie character has become a bit lost, but only in comparison to the others who are brilliant.

Just picked up a copy of a decent ride. I had forgotten how enjoyable Welsh was to read, Marribou Stalk Nightmares aside I've enjoyed all his output I've read

 

[lemonjelly]

I found skagboys to be the pick of the bunch of books. Yes, the description of the descent into addiction is compelling, but the book was also hugely funny and comedic a lot. It shows how various small decisions can result in big changes. I absolutely loved it as a book.

Blade Artist is the one for me that is a bit more stretched in the believe-ability. Dead Mens |Trousers is far superior.

I've heard some say parts of Welsh's output is a bit cack. The master chefs, and reheated cabbage books are allegedly guff.

Be interested to know how you find your copy of a decent ride mate.

 

[Newbridge Wolf]

I agree with pretty much everything you've written. Went off Welsh for a good few years and only dipped in to porno and filth until his recent output.

Skagboys is the best I have read, but I just found some of it difficult to deal with as he analysed, let's face it, his own experience with addiction it was equally brilliant and painful to read.

Happy to hand my copy down of a DR once I've finished

 

[Tredman]

I realise I'm probably very late to this, given there are 17 books, but the Charlie Parker books by John Connolly are great. Like a much, much better and darker version of the Jack Reacher books.

 

[Newbridge Wolf]

A Decent Ride - Irvine Welsh

Following on from the Edinburgh scene, Welsh follows the activities of prolific shagger Juice Terry and his sexual exploits. Written in the usual manner of a Welsh novel heavily accented in his native Edinburgh accent and language, what could have turned a bit one dimensional fairly quickly turns into a pretty decent novel, its well worth a read if, like me, you appreciate Welsh's rare mix of dark humour and wit.

 

[MARKakaJIM]

Borrowed a few of Michael Calvin's books off my dad the other day and started reading the first one, where he follows Jackett round at Millwall for season.

Must confess to being rather underwhelmed so far, seen nothing but praise for his work but I'm finding it really tough going to get through any of it. So far there's not been anything massively insightful, lower level players shit themselves with injuries as that could be career over and struggle to earn enough at their level to retire early or players that act full cunt on the pitch aren't necessarily the same off the pitch. I find his writing style a bit flowery too, starting chapters with random seemingly irrelevant stories or just completely over-egging descriptions of relatively mundane events.

All in all just finding it a bit of a disappointment so far, going to try and battle through the rest of it to see if the rest of it does any better for me but can't see me reading his other books if it stays like this.

 

[Langers]

I don't think I've ever read so many books in a year before - I've just finished the 15th book of 2019, which is a lot for me!

1. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
2. Sea of Thieves: Athena's Fortune by Chris Allcock
3. How To Be Right in a World Gone Wrong by James O'Brien
4. Old Too Soon, Smart Too Late by Kieron Dyer with Oliver Holt
5. Our Story by Ron and Reg Kray with Fred Dineage
6. Step By Step - The Life in My Journeys by Simon Reeve
7. How Not To Be A Boy by Robert Webb
8. Cheer Up Peter Reid by Peter Reid
9. The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
10. Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View by various authors
11. Survivor – Auschwitz, The Death March and My Fight for Freedom by Sam Pivnik
12. Daughters of the Dragon by William Andrews
13. The Man Who Broke into Auschwitz by Denis Avey
14. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
15. Vespasian - Tribune of Rome by Robert Fabbri

I'd hugely recommend James O'Brien's book, Robert Webb's autobiography, and above all the others the amazing Daughters of the Dragon which is historical fiction based on fact about the horrific ordeals suffered by Korean women who were forced to work as 'comfort women' for the Japanese in WW2.

The last one on the list is really cool - the first in a series of 8 books about the life of Emperor Vespasian. Basically I, Claudius mixed with Gladiator. Good fun, easy to read, very entertaining, a good mix of political intrigue and bloody violence with cameos from important figures in Roman history. It's ace - I'm going to buy some of the others in the series before my holiday next month as they're all cheap on Kindle at the moment.

 

[Tredman]

I don't think I've ever read so many books in a year before - I've just finished the 15th book of 2019, which is a lot for me!

1. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
2. Sea of Thieves: Athena's Fortune by Chris Allcock
3. How To Be Right in a World Gone Wrong by James O'Brien
4. Old Too Soon, Smart Too Late by Kieron Dyer with Oliver Holt
5. Our Story by Ron and Reg Kray with Fred Dineage
6. Step By Step - The Life in My Journeys by Simon Reeve
7. How Not To Be A Boy by Robert Webb
8. Cheer Up Peter Reid by Peter Reid
9. The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
10. Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View by various authors
11. Survivor – Auschwitz, The Death March and My Fight for Freedom by Sam Pivnik
12. Daughters of the Dragon by William Andrews
13. The Man Who Broke into Auschwitz by Denis Avey
14. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
15. Vespasian - Tribune of Rome by Robert Fabbri

I'd hugely recommend James O'Brien's book, Robert Webb's autobiography, and above all the others the amazing Daughters of the Dragon which is historical fiction based on fact about the horrific ordeals suffered by Korean women who were forced to work as 'comfort women' for the Japanese in WW2.

The last one on the list is really cool - the first in a series of 8 books about the life of Emperor Vespasian. Basically I, Claudius mixed with Gladiator. Good fun, easy to read, very entertaining, a good mix of political intrigue and bloody violence with cameos from important figures in Roman history. It's ace - I'm going to buy some of the others in the series before my holiday next month as they're all cheap on Kindle at the moment.

Just read Children of Time a few weeks ago. Really enjoyed it, though it felt there could be more to the story. Perhaps the start of a trilogy?

 

[Langers]

Just read Children of Time a few weeks ago. Really enjoyed it, though it felt there could be more to the story. Perhaps the start of a trilogy?

Yes - I think the follow up has just been released, but I've not read it yet. I enjoyed Children of Time - a very interesting concept.

 

[Tredman]

Yes - I think the follow up has just been released, but I've not read it yet. I enjoyed Children of Time - a very interesting concept.

So it has!

Children of Ruin http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40376072-children-of-ruin

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

Picked Scrublands by Chris Hammer up on the Kindle Store for 99p a couple of days ago:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07DXNR63B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_d_asin_title_o02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Normally this sort of stuff is throwaway trash, but this is actually very good. Set in the Australian outback with a really 'noir' type of story.

Just finished this book and I agree that it is good.

I don't know if you have read The Dry by Jane Harper but it has a similar theme (a historic crime gets solved in the Australian outback during a drought) and is a very good book. Better than Scrublands in my opinion.

 

[lemonjelly]

I don't think I've ever read so many books in a year before - I've just finished the 15th book of 2019, which is a lot for me!

1. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
2. Sea of Thieves: Athena's Fortune by Chris Allcock
3. How To Be Right in a World Gone Wrong by James O'Brien
4. Old Too Soon, Smart Too Late by Kieron Dyer with Oliver Holt
5. Our Story by Ron and Reg Kray with Fred Dineage
6. Step By Step - The Life in My Journeys by Simon Reeve
7. How Not To Be A Boy by Robert Webb
8. Cheer Up Peter Reid by Peter Reid
9. The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
10. Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View by various authors
11. Survivor – Auschwitz, The Death March and My Fight for Freedom by Sam Pivnik
12. Daughters of the Dragon by William Andrews
13. The Man Who Broke into Auschwitz by Denis Avey
14. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
15. Vespasian - Tribune of Rome by Robert Fabbri

I'd hugely recommend James O'Brien's book, Robert Webb's autobiography, and above all the others the amazing Daughters of the Dragon which is historical fiction based on fact about the horrific ordeals suffered by Korean women who were forced to work as 'comfort women' for the Japanese in WW2.

The last one on the list is really cool - the first in a series of 8 books about the life of Emperor Vespasian. Basically I, Claudius mixed with Gladiator. Good fun, easy to read, very entertaining, a good mix of political intrigue and bloody violence with cameos from important figures in Roman history. It's ace - I'm going to buy some of the others in the series before my holiday next month as they're all cheap on Kindle at the moment.

Given the content of your list langers, Eyewitness Auschwitz by Filip Muller is a must read (if you haven't already).

 

[Langers]

Given the content of your list langers, Eyewitness Auschwitz by Filip Muller is a must read (if you haven't already).

Thanks mate - I'll look out for that. I read a lot about Auschwitz before I visited it in June, but always keen to learn more.

 

[Keef]

Think I've mentioned before,auschwitz by miklos niyiski (or something like that) is worth a read he was a Dr who did autopsies on mengeles test subjects,among other things.

How did you find the tour? I found the belongings bought home how industrial a killing machine it was