The Book Thread

Me too. That's why I Googled it. The review said IQ84 was'nt ideal as a first read of Murakami's books, so I Googled further and decided Kafka on the Shore sounded OK. It was.
They have quite a lot of his stuff on sale at Salts Mill if you're anywhere near.

Well now i'm going to have to google Salts Mill!

The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo.

A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver's enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 - "Q is for 'question mark.' A world that bears a question." Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled.

As Aomame's and Tengo's narratives converge over the course of this single year, we learn of the profound and tangled connections that bind them ever closer: a beautiful, dyslexic teenage girl with a unique vision; a mysterious religious cult that instigated a shoot-out with the metropolitan police; a reclusive, wealthy dowager who runs a shelter for abused women; a hideously ugly private investigator; a mild-mannered yet ruthlessly efficient bodyguard; and a peculiarly insistent television-fee collector.

A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell's - 1Q84 is Haruki Murakami's most ambitious undertaking yet: an instant best seller in his native Japan, and a tremendous feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers.

[yorkie_chris]

Just as I had been reading about Mediterranean shipwrecks on the net I happened across a couple of secondhand books...

"The bitter sea" Simon Ball and "Operation Mincemeat" Ben Macintyre, interesting stuff, Operation Mincemeat I struggled to put down and is in places gruesome and amusing, The Bitter Sea is a bit dry and political in places but still excellent reading if you have any interest in history.

And ordered "Caverns measureless to man" by Sheck Exley

Chris is OP Mincemeat the WW2 one where they dress up a tramp as an officer and drop him in the med?

Terry Pratchett, any and all of his novels are astounding, he does comedy, crime, thriller, horror, fantasy and mixes it all together in his weird way to make absolutely marvellous reads, I picked up my first one about 10yrs ago after an operation, whilst recovering in hospital the guy in the bed next to me was reading The Fifth Elephant and he kept laughing so hard I thought I'd better check it out. Never looked back, I am now a member of the fan club and own every book he's written, If your thinking of giving Discword a chance I would say start with Going Postal or The Last Continent.

[STRAMASHER]

Had a coupla holiday reads:

Sniper One by Sgt Dan Mills

Best account I have read about being in the thick of it out in sandyland. Hardly lets up, plenty of detail. Great perspective.



Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible & Fried: My Life As A Revolting **** by Chris Connelly

Wee naebody dweeb fae Edinbra joins now legendary bands Ministry/Rev Co, and assorted Industrial/ Wax Trax nutters for mucho extreme nonsense and the occassional song/tour. Very funny, brilliantly written by a modest fella ...and pharmaceutically educational. (And confirms one of the best gigs I have ever been to....phew!)

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by tactcom7

Chris is OP Mincemeat the WW2 one where they dress up a tramp as an officer and drop him in the med?

That's the one.

I've just finished The eleventh commandment by Jeffrey Archer - couldn't leave ti down!!

Now I'm fast going through Mrs Jones by B.A. Morton which again is a can't leave down book.

Good fiction crime books that keep you occupied and interested.