What Did You Just Finish? - Page 2

CHUCK LIDELOL · 1st July 2008, 12:39am

The Dirt
Motley Crue & Neil Strauss.

Fun read! Yeah, I've no idea about Motley Crue. I always figured they were poseurs and arseholes with shitty music. Without hearing their music, this book didn't do a lot to dispell my first two criticisms.

Told from the perspective not only of the four original band members, The Dirt also features chapters from the point of view of ex members, girlfriends and managers etc. giving a more rounded analysis of their decade of ridiculousness. It really is quite an interesting and joyful read. The guys all come across as really fucked up. Tommy Lee as a lost little boy who never grew up. Nikkie as a drug addict with major family issues. Mick has crippling physical pain matched only by his emotional self esteem problems. Vince comes across as the biggest asshole of all time, completely unapologetic with it too, for the most part, but a dude who experiences a lot of loss in his life.

As I've said, the book tells the various tales of debauchery from many perspectives which is an interesting way to keep the book unique. The short chapters ensure that boredom rarely creeps in. Only Mick's self-pitying, sparse, chapters are difficult - there's only so much 'woe is me' you can read.

Aye. Good stuff. Wonder how their music is... 4/5.

CHUCK LIDELOL · 3rd July 2008, 12:36am

David Mitchell's Ghostwritten.

Brilliant. One of my favourite books this year at least. Beautifully and wistfully written, the novel is ten short intertwined stories that revolve around similar themes. Chance, Buddhism, electronic advancement and Eastern mysticism are explorer through the various tales. The book is charming in its description of the glorious scenery (each story focuses on a different location, from Honk Kong, to London, to Clear Island - Ireland). Fantastically woven. I need to read more of his stuff. 4/5.

MrKASADY · 3rd July 2008, 10:36pm

Finished Irvine Welsh's "Ecstacy" today. Not a bad read. 3 mini stories so my attention didn't wander as it normally does when I read fiction nonsense.

endless psych · 7th July 2008, 2:48pm

Ludmillas Broken English -DBC Pierre

Its an odd one this... Read it mainly because Vernon God Little was, as far as I am concerned, sheer brilliance. This is good... but its different. Its a bit like the difference between Catch 22 and something happened in terms of pacing... Whereas the story in Vernon God Little pulled you along at an approximation of break neck speed (I believe they call it un-putdownability or some such) Ludmillas Broken English is slower paced. Well one of the protagonists main strories is quite slowly paced - perhaps to contrast with the breakneck speed of the other. It is a good book DBC has a flair for giving his characters a voice and a deeply comic one at that.

However where Vernon God Little felt like a feature film, I hasten to add the differing settings could come into play here, Ludmillas Broken English feels like a BBC TV drama.

JennyPiccolo · 7th July 2008, 3:13pm

A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. It's about a guy in rehab with a cronic crack and booze addiction. It's pretty captivating, but somehow emotionless. He's received a lot of bad press because some of the story is fabricated, but while some parts didn't ring entirely true, I don't think real life always flows into a perfect novel. It's fairly well written, and has interesting use of dialogue, omitting any punctuation in conversation, which creates a sort of stream-of-consciousness effect that runs into his thoughts.

4/5

Baron Samedi · 7th July 2008, 3:18pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by JennyPiccolo

A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. It's about a guy in rehab with a cronic crack and booze addiction. It's pretty captivating, but somehow emotionless. He's received a lot of bad press because some of the story is fabricated, but while some parts didn't ring entirely true, I don't think real life always flows into a perfect novel. It's fairly well written, and has interesting use of dialogue, omitting any punctuation in conversation, which creates a sort of stream-of-consciousness effect that runs into his thoughts.

4/5

I started reading this recently but oddly I don't remember finishing it and I don't think I even own it. Maybe I started it at a friend's house or something - must pick it up for myself as I remember being quite into it.

*blaine* · 7th July 2008, 6:24pm

just finished Attack of the unsinkable rubber ducks by chrisopher brookmyre only fairly recently got Into Brookmyre, but this is one of the best ive read so far outta the 5 ive read, basically written in the syle of four different people Studying the psychic powers of Gabrielle Layafette, as he takes part in a university study to prove his Talents are real

As ive said definatly one of my favourite books of his so far, and written in different perspectives, from the staunch beliver to the Out and out Cynic (in this case Jack Parlabane) for a crime thriller you do figure out whats hapenning remarkably quick, but i found myself unable to FFigure out HOW, which made for a far more intresting read

5/5

CHUCK LIDELOL · 7th July 2008, 10:42pm

Probably one of my favourite books ever, now. I finished To Kill a Mockingbird today. Sublime, beautiful, classic. Yeah?

Rowsbette · 7th July 2008, 10:42pm

Sugarmilk Falls by Ilona van Mil.

Overall I enjoyed it, very atmospheric... felt like the literary equivalent to Twin Peaks in many ways. Ending was a tad disappointing: one of the mysteries turns out the exact way that's hinted at halfway through the book, while the other is never fully explained. But I guess that's kinda the point, as it's not a straightforward whodunnit. I'd say it's definitely worth a read for the lovely imagery and pervasive atmosphere, but some readers may find it a bit slow or unrewarding.

Wow, bumped at the very same minute. Spooky.

bikuki · 7th July 2008, 10:44pm

The Hitchickers Guide To The Galaxy: Trilogy In Five Parts - Douglas Adams

I started it before I went on holiday so I'd have something to read on the plane journeys that I knew I wouldn't finish while I was away (so I'd be left with nothing to read).

I totally forgot how utterly disappointing the ending of Mostly Harmless was.

CHUCK LIDELOL · 7th July 2008, 10:49pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rowsbette

Sugarmilk Falls by Ilona van Mil.

Overall I enjoyed it, very atmospheric... felt like the literary equivalent to Twin Peaks in many ways. Ending was a tad disappointing: one of the mysteries turns out the exact way that's hinted at halfway through the book, while the other is never fully explained. But I guess that's kinda the point, as it's not a straightforward whodunnit. I'd say it's definitely worth a read for the lovely imagery and pervasive atmosphere, but some readers may find it a bit slow or unrewarding.

Wow, bumped at the very same minute. Spooky.

Spooky indeed. I love Twin peaks... Dunno if I'd enjoy a similar book though. What are the similarities between the two (without spoiling if yer can)?

Rowsbette · 7th July 2008, 10:57pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by CHUCK LIDELOL

Spooky indeed. I love Twin peaks... Dunno if I'd enjoy a similar book though. What are the similarities between the two (without spoiling if yer can)?

Mainly in the atmosphere... all of her descriptive passages could be talking about scenes from the series. It's set in a small town in Canada, focusing on the secrets, gossip and different versions of events that make up the community... there's stuff about Indians, gambling, hunting etc as well. When they mentioned that someone had seen the solution in a dream I began to wonder if the author was straight out *lifting* stuff from Peaks, but she never really develops that aspect of the story.

CHUCK LIDELOL · 7th July 2008, 11:16pm

Sounds interesting. I'll seek it out.

MarkMono · 8th July 2008, 8:10am

Just read the first book of the Flashman papers. Read it when I was about 10 or 11, but while I enjoyed the main characters cowardice and utter refusal to take on board ethical lessons I don't think I really got the satire of the British army in Afghanistan of the time.

The writer, George McDonald Fraser, obviously loves his morally pathetic main character as much as he despises the incompetence of the British armed forces, and I'm glad I read it again if only to experience the venomously dripping satire which seems to have flown over my younger head.

Stupid, stupid British.

Rowsbette · 8th July 2008, 9:18am

Quote:

Originally Posted by CHUCK LIDELOL

Sounds interesting. I'll seek it out.

I'm not sure it's actually worth buying, so gies a shout if you want a loan of my copy.