15 books in 15 minutes...

[user name]

it's the first time i've done on of these list-thingys... list 15 books in fifteen minutes that hold significance for u...

in no particular order...

1. king of the gypsies... by bartholemew gorman... his life story soon to be made into a film by shane meadows... good read and will always be special as it got me back into reading recently after a long time away from books...

2. a day in the life of ivan denisovitch... by solzehnitsyn... working in minus 17C rather than minus 30C, 2 bits of black bread instead of just 1, a food parcel etc... and this was a good day...

3. homage to catalonia... orwell... he writes in a journo stylee and tells the story of people coming together to fight fascism...

4. the very hungry caterpillar... by carle... a top childrens book that is, well, just boss...

5. the shock doctrine by naomi klein... everyone must read this book... illumination... it made me stop reading fiction...

6. the road to wigan pier... orwell... the story of working people by a great scribe...

7. no one writes to the colonel... marquez... this is the first book i’ve read in the Spanish language... top read about patience and other things...

8. skywriting by word of mouth... by john lennon... he’d written a few hundred pages which were stolen then recovered 5 years after his death... i’m not sure if he would’ve liked people looking at his ‘scriblings’ as he’s been quoted as saying that he wanted all his demos destroyed... but as a fan, all these little bits seem more sincere in their rough form...

9. the road to ixtlan... Castaneda... now some people think he made it all up... so what, i think they miss the point...

10. popol vu... translated by recinos, goetz and morely... the book of the mayans... a creation story...

11. zen in the art of archery... herrigel... let go of the arrow like a drop of water leaves a leaf... i like that...

12. the doors of perception heaven and hell... Huxley... the first proper book i read when at uni...

13. the s.a.s. survival handbook... if u like camping and really wanna stay alive if things go proper-pear-shaped then this is the book for yer...

14. don Quixote... when i was a child people used to say i was quixotic... i didn’t know what they meant but i’m happy with the tag as the kid's heart was good...

15. the 9th book of word... by me... a book i started when i was 9 years old and i completed the first draft just before my 40th birthday... they are words that go with tunes (i’ve been working on in my head since that time too...) i still have a mountain to climb to complete the whole piece and don’t really know where i’m going to conjure up the time and space to get it out there...


i've shown u mine, now show me yours...

[teesred]

In no particular order...
1.mr nice,howard marks. Truly amazing book and id be even more amazed if any of its actually true like its supposed to be!
2.Slash,slash. The best rock n roll book ever, out of all my rock heroes slash comes across as the most decent bloke you could want to meet.
3.many years from now, paul mccartney. Fantastic,facts,facts and more beatles facts.
4.The Truth,PhilScraton. Hard read but a book anyone and everyone should read let alone lfc or football fans.
5.revolution in the head,beatles facts again
6.the tiger who came to tea, remember this as a child and I got my son the 30th aniversary pop up version and he loves it.
7.Mr bump,cool mr men,loved em as a kid and still do.
8.captain pugwash (i won it in a drawing competiton aged 30 ...I mean 5.
9.hotel california,barney hoskins,amazing book about west coast music in the 60s and 70s..
10. Boys from the blackstuff. Good program but I did the book at school and it really went into the effects unemployment can have on families and individuals. Very sad.
11.Che guevara-a revolutionary life, jon anderson. Heavy going but the first half is tremendous,gets a bit political in the second half but still a very good read.
12.charlie and the chocolate factory
13.manslaughter united,john hulme
14.macbeth,read at school and loved it even though its the only shakespeare ive ever read.
15. Lord of the flies,william golding. Belter of a book, got me a B in english lit at school.

[user name]

that's a top list tees... i think i could get into any on yer list...

[1984]

I've read loads of books but don't always remember their names, but here goes:

1. 'Fighting the powers' by Walter Wink. Liberation and anti-violence theology. Using the work of Rene Girard his work changed the way I see the Bible and how it has been misinterpreted.
2. 'The Idiot' by Dostoevsky. Ironically despite him being called a role model I decided that the way of the hero was not the way for me. No tearing myself apart about some woman.
3. 'Europe' by Norman Davies. The most comprehensive book about Europe there is, and the best I know for dipping into every now and then to read about, say, Montenegro, the Enlightenment or WWI.
4. 'Masters of death: the SS-Einsatzgruppen' by Richard Rhodes. After reading it I'm still amazed that the what the Einsatzgruppen did is not that present in the memory of the west. Many times reading it I was thinking 'there is proof for that?' or 'did that really happen?' where the answers were yes.
5. 'Deliver us from evil' by William Shawcross. Reading it at the moment. It's about the work of the UN in the 1990's, covering wars in the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Rwanda, Nigeria, Cambodia, Haiti, among other countries. A book to bring one to despair, but also awareness at the good work the UN are trying to do.
6. 'The glass ball game' by Hermann Hesse. At the time I was working in a drab factory and read it on the bus there and back. I can't actually remember what I took from it, but it did its job at the time.
7. 'Collected poems' by R. S. Thomas. The man who was brought up in the town I come from wrote incredible poems about things that interest me: bird watching, Wales and the apathetic theology view of God.
8. the Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. As a kid my life was not easy, but the series of books took me away to a world where good can win over evil.
9. 'The stand' by Steven King. My favourite of his.
10. 'A short history of nearly everything' by Bill Bryson.

[candyman]

that's a top list tees... i think i could get into any on yer list...

I'll give you another I really think you'd enjoy. The brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. A remarkable book about a dysfunctional immigrant Dominican family in America who's problems all are rooted in the bloody, brutal, fascist past of an authoratarian Dominican Republic. The kid; Oscar Wao is a tragic but very funny figure but the real stars of the book are the two women, his sister and mother.

Check it out. I really think you'll enjoy it.

[user name]

I've read loads of books but don't always remember their names, but here goes:

1. 'Fighting the powers' by Walter Wink. Liberation and anti-violence theology. Using the work of Rene Girard his work changed the way I see the Bible and how it has been misinterpreted.
2. 'The Idiot' by Dostoevsky. Ironically despite him being called a role model I decided that the way of the hero was not the way for me. No tearing myself apart about some woman.
3. 'Europe' by Norman Davies. The most comprehensive book about Europe there is, and the best I know for dipping into every now and then to read about, say, Montenegro, the Enlightenment or WWI.
4. 'Masters of death: the SS-Einsatzgruppen' by Richard Rhodes. After reading it I'm still amazed that the what the Einsatzgruppen did is not that present in the memory of the west. Many times reading it I was thinking 'there is proof for that?' or 'did that really happen?' where the answers were yes.
5. 'Deliver us from evil' by William Shawcross. Reading it at the moment. It's about the work of the UN in the 1990's, covering wars in the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Rwanda, Nigeria, Cambodia, Haiti, among other countries. A book to bring one to despair, but also awareness at the good work the UN are trying to do.
6. 'The glass ball game' by Hermann Hesse. At the time I was working in a drab factory and read it on the bus there and back. I can't actually remember what I took from it, but it did its job at the time.
7. 'Collected poems' by R. S. Thomas. The man who was brought up in the town I come from wrote incredible poems about things that interest me: bird watching, Wales and the apathetic theology view of God.
8. the Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. As a kid my life was not easy, but the series of books took me away to a world where good can win over evil.
9. 'The stand' by Steven King. My favourite of his.
10. 'A short history of nearly everything' by Bill Bryson.

some seriously heavy reading there... but rather that than some pulp fiction anyday...

[user name]

I'll give you another I really think you'd enjoy. The brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. A remarkable book about a dysfunctional immigrant Dominican family in America who's problems all are rooted in the bloody, brutal, fascist past of an authoratarian Dominican Republic. The kid; Oscar Wao is a tragic but very funny figure but the real stars of the book are the two women, his sister and mother.

Check it out. I really think you'll enjoy it.

think i may give it a go... i had a friend from that part of the world (haiti) and love people books but i'm not sure when i'll go back to fiction... there's too much 'real' stuff out there for me to get through already...

[Evs]

1. 'Revolution In The Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties' - Ian MacDonald. Every time I read it, I find something new.

2. 'Humanity: A Moral History of the 20th Century - Jonathan Glover. A philosophical look at the key events of the 20th century. Brilliant and eye opening.

3. 'The Third Reich: A New History - Michael Burleigh. Does what it says on the tin.

4. 'A Season on the Brink' - Guillem Balague. YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5. 'Hitler 1889-1936 Hubris' - Ian Kershaw. He was a right bastard, him.

6. 'Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd' - Nick Mason. A rare insight into the workings of the mighty Floyd.

7. 'Guardians of Power: The Myth of the Liberal Media' - David Edwards and David Cromwell. Makes you think..............

8. 'Stalin: In The Court of the Red Tsar' - Simon Sebag Montefiore. Brilliantly written, you feel as if your a member of the inner circle whilst reading it.

9. 'Who Shot J.F.K.?' - Robin Ramsey. I LOVE it!

10. 'The Enemy Within: The Secret War Against The Miners' - Seamus Milne. Hope the bitch croaks it soon.

11. 'The Liverpool Year' - Kenny Dalglish. The story of the all-conquering Mighty Reds of 87-88 in the King's words.

12. 'Blood Rights: Origins and History of the Passions of War' - Barbara Ehrenreich. Contains one of the few original ideas on the subject.

13. 'Karl Marx' - Francis Wheen. Very entertaining, amazingly!

14. 'Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson - Geoffrey C. Ward. The story of the first black heavyweight champion of the world.

15. 'Liverpool Supreme' - edited by John Keith. Press reports from the Double season. Priceless.


And many more......................

[vin]

think i may give it a go... i had a friend from that part of the world (haiti) and love people books but i'm not sure when i'll go back to fiction... there's too much 'real' stuff out there for me to get through already...

Read about François "Papa Doc" Duvalier.

"Papa Doc, Baby Doc: Haiti and the Duvaliers"

[candyman]

think i may give it a go... i had a friend from that part of the world (haiti) and love people books but i'm not sure when i'll go back to fiction... there's too much 'real' stuff out there for me to get through already...

A large part of the book is set in The Dominican Republic when it was under the thumb of the Dictator Trujillo who treated the country as his own personal whorehouse. I learnt a lot about Dominica, Dominicans, some small amount about Haitians and no little Spanish.
Just read the first couple of pages and I think you won't be able to put it down.

[Ducatiboy749]

I'm embarassed to say I struggled to think of 10.:o

1 Wonderland Avenue
2 Papillon
3 Banco
4 Goodnight Mr Tom
5 Of Mice and Men
6 King Lear
7 The Great Gatsby
8 Trainspotting
9 Watership Down
10 Tarka The Otter

[user name]

Read about François "Papa Doc" Duvalier.

"Papa Doc, Baby Doc: Haiti and the Duvaliers"

that whole 'thing' didn't stop there... i read that the fugees did a benefit concert that raised $400,000 or something... they were 'taxed' $400k for the 'privilage'...

i'm more interested in voodum and the culture/music of the place... my mate was smuggled out of there in a cardboard box:eek: when he was a baby and then adopted... his life woulda been quite different had he stayed...

[user name]

I'm embarassed to say I struggled to think of 10.:o

1 Wonderland Avenue
2 Papillon
3 Banco
4 Goodnight Mr Tom
5 Of Mice and Men
6 King Lear
7 The Great Gatsby
8 Trainspotting
9 Watership Down
10 Tarka The Otter

is banco the sequel? i thought it pushed the limits of belief a bit... he spins a good yarn though...

some good reads in there evs... anything beatle-factoid is always interesting, especially the recording techniques...


btw... i know a guy who is a university professor and has never, ever read a novel... he loves reading technical manuals... like, 'seriously'...

[1984]

5. 'Hitler 1889-1936 Hubris' - Ian Kershaw. He was a right bastard, him.

What have you got against Ian Kershaw?

Otherwise, a few books to look out for there.

[tonk]

1. 'Revolution In The Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties' - Ian MacDonald. Every time I read it, I find something new.

2. 'Humanity: A Moral History of the 20th Century - Jonathan Glover. A philosophical look at the key events of the 20th century. Brilliant and eye opening.

3. 'The Third Reich: A New History - Michael Burleigh. Does what it says on the tin.

4. 'A Season on the Brink' - Guillem Balague. YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5. 'Hitler 1889-1936 Hubris' - Ian Kershaw. He was a right bastard, him.

6. 'Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd' - Nick Mason. A rare insight into the workings of the mighty Floyd.

7. 'Guardians of Power: The Myth of the Liberal Media' - David Edwards and David Cromwell. Makes you think..............

8. 'Stalin: In The Court of the Red Tsar' - Simon Sebag Montefiore. Brilliantly written, you feel as if your a member of the inner circle whilst reading it.

9. 'Who Shot J.F.K.?' - Robin Ramsey. I LOVE it!

10. 'The Enemy Within: The Secret War Against The Miners' - Seamus Milne. Hope the bitch croaks it soon.

11. 'The Liverpool Year' - Kenny Dalglish. The story of the all-conquering Mighty Reds of 87-88 in the King's words.

12. 'Blood Rights: Origins and History of the Passions of War' - Barbara Ehrenreich. Contains one of the few original ideas on the subject.

13. 'Karl Marx' - Francis Wheen. Very entertaining, amazingly!

14. 'Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson - Geoffrey C. Ward. The story of the first black heavyweight champion of the world.

15. 'Liverpool Supreme' - edited by John Keith. Press reports from the Double season. Priceless.


And many more......................

Well, who was it?

[Evs]

Well, who was it?

The most recent theory that i'm aware of is that Lyndon Johnson had him killed as Johnson was about to be arrested by Bobby Kennedy in connection with a murder and would've then obviously lost his vice-presidency and been fucked, basically.

He used his 'connections' in the Dallas Police and Secret Service to get the job done.

Johnson's former mistress confirmed this theory shortly before she died in 2004.

[tonk]

Autobiography of a Yogi - Paramahansa Yogananda
Hitler's Willing Executioners - Daniel Jonah Goldhagan
A Secret Country - John Pilger
Battle Cry - Leon Uris
The Alchemist - Paolo Cuelo (sp)
Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth- Gitta Sereny
Why the Allies Won the War - Richard Overy
The Hidden Forest - Jon Luoma
The Criminal History of Mankind - Colin Wilson
Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
The Holocaust - Martin Gilbert
Programmed to Kill - David McGowan
Morrissey and Marr: The Severed Alliance - Johnny *****
The Stand - Stephen King
Supernature - Lyall Watson

[tonk]

The most recent theory that i'm aware of is that Lyndon Johnson had him killed as Johnson was about to be arrested by Bobby Kennedy in connection with a murder and would've then obviously lost his vice-presidency and been fucked, basically.

He used his 'connections' in the Dallas Police and Secret Service to get the job done.

Johnson's former mistress confirmed this theory shortly before she died in 2004.

That's a new one on me, and God knows I've read a few! Did the book refer to the famous 'wink' between LBJ and, I think, a Texan Senator on Air Force 1 just after LBJ was sworn in?

[Evs]

That's a new one on me, and God knows I've read a few! Did the book refer to the famous 'wink' between LBJ and, I think, a Texan Senator on Air Force 1 just after LBJ was sworn in?

I don't think so mate, i'll have to dig it out.

Ramsey contributes to a website, 'Lobster'. Well worth a nose.

[tonk]

I don't think so mate, i'll have to dig it out.

Ramsey contributes to a website, 'Lobster'. Well worth a nose.

cheers, I'l have a shufti at it directly.

[1984]

Hitler's Willing Executioners - Daniel Jonah Goldhagan

Why do you like this book? I've heard a lot about it, but have not read it myself.

[RedWanderer]

8. the Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. As a kid my life was not easy, but the series of books took me away to a world where good can win over evil.


I enjoyed several on your list (though I prefer the Brothers Karamazov from Dostoevsky), but I have to comment on these. I just reread them recently as an adult, and they're still as brilliant as ever. I doubt that a work of fiction has ever or ever will have the impact on me that these books did. So deep on occasion, and yet so entertaining all at once - Lewis really was a literary genius in my eyes.

Have you read/what did you think of The Great Divorce?

[1984]

No I haven't.

Actually I prefer 'The Brothers Karamazov' too. Maybe it's my favourite book. The ending of 'The Idiot' stays with me more though, and I was thinking of books that affected me when I did the list.

[tonk]

Why do you like this book? I've heard a lot about it, but have not read it myself.

Like is probably not the right word, and it's a long time since I've read it, but I suppose it reveals the depth of anti-semitism in Germany in the 1930's and during the war. The chapters on the police battalions which were made up of men otherwise unfit for military duty who pursued Jews and shot children, women, old people, anyone just because they were Jews really affected me. These were men who were mature, many had children, who had known life before nazism, yet performed evil deeds just because it was now socially acceptable. Makes you realise that any 'normal' person placed in a certain set of circumstances can perform acts that would sicken them if told about them previously.
I suppose all the books on that list made me look at life and humanity through a new lens.

[teesred]

1. 'Revolution In The Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties' - Ian MacDonald. Every time I read it, I find something new.

2. 'Humanity: A Moral History of the 20th Century - Jonathan Glover. A philosophical look at the key events of the 20th century. Brilliant and eye opening.

3. 'The Third Reich: A New History - Michael Burleigh. Does what it says on the tin.

4. 'A Season on the Brink' - Guillem Balague. YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5. 'Hitler 1889-1936 Hubris' - Ian Kershaw. He was a right bastard, him.

6. 'Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd' - Nick Mason. A rare insight into the workings of the mighty Floyd.

7. 'Guardians of Power: The Myth of the Liberal Media' - David Edwards and David Cromwell. Makes you think..............

8. 'Stalin: In The Court of the Red Tsar' - Simon Sebag Montefiore. Brilliantly written, you feel as if your a member of the inner circle whilst reading it.

9. 'Who Shot J.F.K.?' - Robin Ramsey. I LOVE it!

10. 'The Enemy Within: The Secret War Against The Miners' - Seamus Milne. Hope the bitch croaks it soon.

11. 'The Liverpool Year' - Kenny Dalglish. The story of the all-conquering Mighty Reds of 87-88 in the King's words.

12. 'Blood Rights: Origins and History of the Passions of War' - Barbara Ehrenreich. Contains one of the few original ideas on the subject.

13. 'Karl Marx' - Francis Wheen. Very entertaining, amazingly!

14. 'Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson - Geoffrey C. Ward. The story of the first black heavyweight champion of the world.

15. 'Liverpool Supreme' - edited by John Keith. Press reports from the Double season. Priceless.


And many more......................

I was dissapointed with "inside out", didnt think it was all that revealing and just told me what mags like mojo and Q had been printing for years. Have you read that one called "pigs might fly"? Its only a fiver in HMV, dont know if its meant to be any good or not like.

In response to TONK, ive read severed alliance too and was going to put it on my list but thought I already had too many rock books. Its good like isnt it, Morrissey is particularly scathing of johnny ***** because of it. Probably as it doesnt really paint a nice picture of him.

[teesred]

I've read loads of books but don't always remember their names, but here goes:

1. 'Fighting the powers' by Walter Wink. Liberation and anti-violence theology. Using the work of Rene Girard his work changed the way I see the Bible and how it has been misinterpreted.
2. 'The Idiot' by Dostoevsky. Ironically despite him being called a role model I decided that the way of the hero was not the way for me. No tearing myself apart about some woman.
3. 'Europe' by Norman Davies. The most comprehensive book about Europe there is, and the best I know for dipping into every now and then to read about, say, Montenegro, the Enlightenment or WWI.
4. 'Masters of death: the SS-Einsatzgruppen' by Richard Rhodes. After reading it I'm still amazed that the what the Einsatzgruppen did is not that present in the memory of the west. Many times reading it I was thinking 'there is proof for that?' or 'did that really happen?' where the answers were yes.
5. 'Deliver us from evil' by William Shawcross. Reading it at the moment. It's about the work of the UN in the 1990's, covering wars in the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Rwanda, Nigeria, Cambodia, Haiti, among other countries. A book to bring one to despair, but also awareness at the good work the UN are trying to do.
6. 'The glass ball game' by Hermann Hesse. At the time I was working in a drab factory and read it on the bus there and back. I can't actually remember what I took from it, but it did its job at the time.
7. 'Collected poems' by R. S. Thomas. The man who was brought up in the town I come from wrote incredible poems about things that interest me: bird watching, Wales and the apathetic theology view of God.
8. the Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. As a kid my life was not easy, but the series of books took me away to a world where good can win over evil.
9. 'The stand' by Steven King. My favourite of his.
10. 'A short history of nearly everything' by Bill Bryson.

Think ill check that one out, sounds good.

[Evs]

I was dissapointed with "inside out", didnt think it was all that revealing and just told me what mags like mojo and Q had been printing for years. Have you read that one called "pigs might fly"? Its only a fiver in HMV, dont know if its meant to be any good or not like.

In response to TONK, ive read severed alliance too and was going to put it on my list but thought I already had too may rock books. Its good like isnt it, Morrissey is particularly scathing of johnny ***** because of it. Probably as it doesnt really paint a nice picture of him.

Haven't heard of that one. Is it new?

Will have to get it now, be a shame to leave it there at that price.

[pierrenoir]

1, A peoples history of the United States - Howard Zinn. Tells the story of the US from the perspective of the people who lived through it rather than the version that is used in schools and TV etc. Changed the way I look at the world.
2. Understanding power - Noam Chomsky. I would recommend this for anyyone who is even slightly interested in how governments function.
3. LA Confidential - James Ellroy. If you liked the film then treat yourself to the books in this trilogy (The Black Dahlia and The Big Nowhere are the others)
4. Killshot - Elmore Leonard. The first book I read by Leonard, fantastic writer.
5.Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut. First time I read this I wept like a child.
6. The Clicking of Cuthbert - PG Wodehouse. Short stories about Golf and the first book I ever read by him. I still havent come across anyone as funny in print.
7. Revolution in the Head. Ian McDonald
8. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte. Did this in school for O level and couldnt stand it. Read it again a few years ago and could not put it down. Shes absolutley gagging for it, the dirty little minx
9. Loser and Still Champion - Budd Schulberg. Story of Ali up until the first defeat to Frasier. Puts him in context with all the previous Coloured heavyweights and says that basically getting up after being put down in the 15th round is the most courageous thing any of them ever did.
10. A Fair Field and No Favour - Gideon Haigh. Collected writings on the Ashes in 2005 if you like cricket books anything by this guy is worth reading
11. The devil rides out - Dennis Wheatley. This got me into reading back when I was about 12. Ridiculous now but proper piss your pants scary back then.
12.Conan the Barbarian - Robert E Howard. Read them when I was a kid, they were ace
13. A short history of nearly everything - Bill Bryson
14. The man with the golden arm - Nelson Algren. I dont normally like proper literature but this is excellent.
15. The old man and the sea - Ernest Hemmingway. Two days after reading this I was taking a shower and I just broke down and wept. Devastating

[teesred]

Haven't heard of that one. Is it new?

Will have to get it now, be a shame to leave it there at that price.

I think its quite recent. I saw it nearly a year ago in hmv but I know they still have it cheap as a mate of mine bought it. Do you have the mind over matter book? Its all the artwork they used by storm thorgeson. Well worth a tenner.
Going off topic slightly do you have the new kasabian album?

[superpool]

Need to get a book for hols, and cant find one that interests me. Can you give me some suggestions?

[ferg_g]

What you need is a list. Now if only I can find one for you to look at.

[superpool]

Too much reading in those lists though. Not that good at reading.

[tonk]

got any preferences?

[tonk]

Need to get a book for hols, and cant find one that interests me. Can you give me some suggestions?

got any preferences?

[Carvalho Diablo]

1. A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving. Magic and tragic, in equal measure.

2. The Last Temptation by Nikos Kazantzakis. Although, I did think that Scorcese's film of the book was actually better !

3. Filth by Irvine Welsh. I think I know, fucking DS Bruce Robertson ! Piss your pants funny.

4. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. Check out Bokonon's 53rd (I think) Calypso, from that book...

"Oh, the sleeping drunkard, up in Central Park
And the lion hunter, in the jungle dark,
And a Chinese Dentist,
And a British Queen,
All fit together in the same machine.
Nice, nice, so very nice,
So many different people,
All in the same device."

Ever since reading Cat's Cradle, old Carvalho is a fully fledged Bokononist !

I have often wondered if we're all part of the same karass, and perhaps LFC Online is our wampeter ?!

5. Ripper by Michael Slade. Bought this from Walmart in New Orleans back in 1994, for something to read on my 2.5 day bus journey to LA ! Totally taken by surprise by just how brilliant this book is. IMO, Michael Slade is easily the best writer of horror / thriller / who-dunnit mysteries out there...by a country mile.

[sunbeam1664]

1. Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion - Dan Simmons - My favourite author and the best sci fi i've ever read.

2. Belgariad - David Eddings - 5 books actually but got me into reading when I was 15.

3. The Fantastic Mr Fox - Roald Dahl - Brilliant kids book - You could pick any really. The Witches is shit hot too.

4. Lord of the Rings - Tolkein - bit obvious but it's bloody brilliant.

5. Filth - Irvine Welsh - I have to say I have never laughed so much. Absolutely disgustingly piss-funny.

6. The Watchmen - Alan Moore - I know it's a comic but it's fucking wicked.

7. Carrion Comfort - Dan Simmons - Him. Again. Thriller this time.

8. No-one Gets out of here Alive - Can't remember the author - Jim Morrison Biog. If you like him....

9. The True Game - Sheri S Tepper - Really good fantasy.

10. The Stand - Stephen King - Mint. Some of the facts are shite but suspend disbelief obviously!

11. Use of Weapons - Iain M Banks

12. Imajica - Clive Barker

13. Weaveworld - Clive Barker (To be honest I could put most of his books on my list somewhere!)

14. Green River Rising - Tim Willocks - Brilliant Prison book.

15. The Straw Men - Michael Marshall - Very good serial killer novel

16....17....

Too many to choose!!

[donkeykongdazza]

Like is probably not the right word, and it's a long time since I've read it, but I suppose it reveals the depth of anti-semitism in Germany in the 1930's and during the war. The chapters on the police battalions which were made up of men otherwise unfit for military duty who pursued Jews and shot children, women, old people, anyone just because they were Jews really affected me. These were men who were mature, many had children, who had known life before nazism, yet performed evil deeds just because it was now socially acceptable. Makes you realise that any 'normal' person placed in a certain set of circumstances can perform acts that would sicken them if told about them previously.
I suppose all the books on that list made me look at life and humanity through a new lens.

I've read this book too, Tonk, and some of it didn't seem plausible. I think Goldhagen has taken the existence of strong anti-semitism in a significant section of German society at the time and mistakenly projected it as being the motivating force of almost all Germany's participants in WW2. His book has many detractors and critics.

On this subject, have you read "IBM and the Holocaust" by Edwin Black? It's a real eye opener.

[tonk]

No mate I haven't but I'm aware of it. As for the Goldhagan book, it does draw a bit of a long bow in condemning all Germans as anti-Semites, and he did cop a lot of stick for it. I guess that's why the chapters on the Police Battalions got to me more as they were 'ordinary' men who committed evil deeds not because they were anti-Semites necessarily, but because their acts had become sanctioned by law and social acceptance.

[donkeykongdazza]

There were some very powerful accounts in Goldhagen's book, particularly the Police Battalions you mention in the Baltic regions. I think he was right to take on the myth that ordinary Germans were only involved because thay were "mesmerised" by Hitler, and to highlight just how many of them needed to be involved to make such an atrocity possible. He, unfortunately, went over the top a bit and ended up giving easy ammunition to discredit much of his book.

[Carvalho Diablo]

14. Green River Rising - Tim Willocks - Brilliant Prison book.


Really ? I thought it was shite !

[sunbeam1664]

Really ? I thought it was shite !

Ah well. No accounting for taste i suppose.

[luca brasi]

Currently reading Antony Beevor's "The Battle for Spain", it's fascinating.

[scaton]

In the order they pop into my head:

The Magus - John Fowles
Sophie's Choice - William Styron
Animal Farm - George Orwell
Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
Curious Dog - Mark Haddon
Heart of the Matter - Graham Greene
Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
Mystic River - Dennis Lehane
Any Inspector Wallander book - Henning Mankell
Extremely Close and Incredibly Loud - Jonathan Safran Foer
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
A Million Little Pieces - James Frey
American Psycho - Brett Beaston Ellis
The Day of the Jackal - Frederick Forsythe
The Wrong Boy - Willy Russell

[candyman]

Like is probably not the right word, and it's a long time since I've read it, but I suppose it reveals the depth of anti-semitism in Germany in the 1930's and during the war. The chapters on the police battalions which were made up of men otherwise unfit for military duty who pursued Jews and shot children, women, old people, anyone just because they were Jews really affected me. These were men who were mature, many had children, who had known life before nazism, yet performed evil deeds just because it was now socially acceptable. Makes you realise that any 'normal' person placed in a certain set of circumstances can perform acts that would sicken them if told about them previously.
I suppose all the books on that list made me look at life and humanity through a new lens.

Or perhaps it's an indication of what certain "normal" people are capable of when given free reign to their baser instincts in the knowledge that their deeds are justified and in fact made socially acceptable by those in power?