Summer holliday reading

Posted by: Bruce Woodhouse on 07 July 2004

Time for a list of suggestions for those summer holiday book buys perhaps? Not that I get a summer holiday of course...

Some to start off,

Nigel Slater 'Toast', poignant and thoughtful autobiography of the chef, and how foods/taste/smell evokes memories of his upbringing.

Patricia Highsmith 'The Talented Mr Ripley, Ripley Under Ground, Ripley under Water'. Just read these three in a row. Don't be put off by the various films which really fail to capture the subtlety of Ripley and his pscho-pathology. Elegantly written and decidedly creepy.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez 'Living To Tell The Tale'. Vol 1 of his autobiography. Bit stodgy in places but still intresting if you like his books.

Bruce
Posted on: 07 July 2004 by Martin D
Hi Bruce I was just thinking along similar lines. I’m taking, but have not read yet, in no particular order:

Dan Brown The Davinci Code
Paul Davies The Origin Of Life
Philip Pullman The Amber Spyglass
John O’Farrell The Best A Man Can Get
Eric Schlosser Fast Food Nation

Regards
Martin
Posted on: 07 July 2004 by John C
Orhan Pamuk ...My Name is Red . A terrific historical novel set in 16 century Istanbul among master illustrators. A murder mystery, love story, art treatise. Rather in the mould of Name of the Rose etc.

Colm Toibin.. The Master.. A daring novel based on the life of Henry James. I really enjoyed this and amazingly it seems to capture the tone of James own writing.

Actually I'll really be feeding my 70s spy novel obsession by reading 7 or 8 Len Deighton novels.

I'll second Bruce's Patricia Highsmith recommendation. One of my favourite writers.

John
Posted on: 07 July 2004 by matthewr
Neal Stepehenson's Baroque trilogy (or at least the first two parts). A romp through late 17th Century Europe with mad syphillitic vagabonds, sexually repressed English protestants, poncy French courtiers, Papist plots and lots of people like Hooke, Newton, Huuygens and Leibniz arguing about who invented calculus, discovered gravity, etc.

Matthew
Posted on: 07 July 2004 by kevinrt
Nigel Slater - Toast

mentions of penises fairly frequently in the first half of the book. Not sure where its leading to.
Posted on: 07 July 2004 by Chris Metcalfe
Very light but profound: the Alexander McCall Smith books.
I just read the Bryson 'Short History' which apparently some scientists have panned as being over-simplistic, which of course is precisely why it's so good (and why most scientists are such.. tists). Noone else could have got me remotely interested in quantum physics, even though it doesn't get much of a look in.
Posted on: 08 July 2004 by Berlin Fritz
"A prayer for Owen Meaney" a crackin book, will keep er indoors quiet for days !

Fritz Von Hiddenagenda !
Posted on: 08 July 2004 by Dan M
quote:
Matthew Robinson suggested: Neal Stepehenson's Baroque trilogy

Is this any good? I was tempted the last time I was in an airport bookstore. I'm wary, because while Kryptonomicon was not a bad read, it had some real weak moments (esp. the rushed ending).

Dan
Posted on: 08 July 2004 by Berlin Fritz
Airport booktores do not stock good books !
Posted on: 08 July 2004 by matthewr
Dan,

I am enjoying it but he does tend to drift and go off the boil at times. Plus he sometimes lays the historical detail on with a trowel and flashing neon lights (like some people discuss ship insurance just so that another character can mention that a Coffee House called Lloyds is the best place to go).

So if you didn't love Cryptonomicon then you should probably excercise caution. Particularly ass 3x900pages is quite a commitment.

Matthew
Posted on: 08 July 2004 by Berlin Fritz
An earlier Commander R.N. (H.M.S. Vernon)once highly reccommended "The Iron Heel" to me, by Jack London, "it'll change your life," he said, and that it certainly did, so if you're really brave enough (taking when it was scribbled into consideration) to read its hallowed pages, it may well change your own perceptions of things too?

Fritz Von Starrover Cool

Üiss: And yes I know it's bookstoer, litree lysince innit !
Posted on: 08 July 2004 by Berlin Fritz
So Mathew old bean, who was that BBC WS Radio commentater (or totty in Scotland) who freaked out during the EU Final, I don't mind if yew don't know it, really ! but think tens of millions of listeners Worldwide withoud goggle boxes heard it, and were amazed, truly amazed, as was I.

Fritz Von Greavsyitwasn't Big Grin Book em Dano.
Posted on: 08 July 2004 by Markus S
quote:
I loved Cryptonomicon, but it did take an eternity to read......


Loved it too, and for me it was a pretty fast read - I don't think it took me more than 4 days. Definitely a men's book, though.
Posted on: 08 July 2004 by matthewr
No Part III yet Alex although if you start Parts I & II now...

I can also highly recommend reading John Gribben's Science: A History first as not only is it entertaining and interesting it will refresh you on the likes of Hooke, Newton, Liebniz, etc. but also Flamsteed and so on. Gribben's book is basically a chronological history of European Science from Copernicus to DNA and QM.

Matthew
Posted on: 08 July 2004 by coredump
Douglas Coupland - All Families Are Psychotic
Posted on: 08 July 2004 by Martin D
Mathew
Thanks thats right up my street
Posted on: 09 July 2004 by Berlin Fritz
the "Just William" books were always jolly fun to read.
Posted on: 09 July 2004 by Berlin Fritz
Sorry to be vague there, I refer of course to earlier Tory manifesto pamphi.

Fritz Von Sillysausage Roll Eyes
Posted on: 09 July 2004 by Richard Dane
Talking of trilogies....

I can highly recommend an oldie but a goodie, Kyril Bonfiglioli's Mortdecai Trilogy (available for a while now in one volume). Charlie Mortdecai, perhaps my favourite fictional literary character...

A great shame that KB was cut off in his prime, although he did also write one other absolute gem titled All The Tea in China. Catch them both if you can, used to be published by Black Swan Press(I think)....

Richard
Posted on: 09 July 2004 by matthewr
When I said "Baroque Trilogy" I did of course mean "Baroque Cycle". Note, however that the "Baroque Cycle" should not be confused with Mick's bike.

Matthew