What are you reading tonight?

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Worthy4England
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Re: What are you reading tonight?

Post by Worthy4England » Wed Aug 16, 2017 6:12 am

Bruce Rioja wrote:
Tue Aug 15, 2017 8:28 pm
Was chatting with a pal a couple of weeks ago about books we read in English Lit lessons at school. The only one I remember us covering which I wasn't so keen on at the time was Playboy of the Western World. Maybe if I were to read it again now I'd alter my view. Similarly but opposite, I have particularly fond memories of reading Bill Naughton's 'The Goalkeeper's Revenge and Other Short Stories' whilst in the 1st year (that means I was 11, kids ;) ) I now have a copy on order - I do hope that I haven't allowed reminiscence to have its way with me and I'll be disappointed. :?
Great fcuking Expectations (Y4/5 = 15/16 years old). Two years running up to the O Level. Still haven't read the feck* to this day. The only Great Expectation I managed to write about was the one that said some bastard thinking I might find it useful being very disappointed.

The obligatory Shakespeare play per annum - didn't read any of them cover to cover either. Think Henry V was the exam one.

Lord of the Flies - better, but not my cuppa (3rd year). The Hobbit (1st Year) - last school book I read.

There must've been another. Clearly, in the same syllabus for year 2, it has made no impression upon my then young mind. None. Whatsoever. Complete waste of time and fcuking energy. Well I say that - I probably didn't expend either on reading it.

None of them will be on order soon (or ever). The Hobbit, looking back on it, might still be in the garage somewhere.

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Re: What are you reading tonight?

Post by malcd1 » Wed Aug 16, 2017 8:52 am

Bruce Rioja wrote:
Tue Aug 15, 2017 8:28 pm
Was chatting with a pal a couple of weeks ago about books we read in English Lit lessons at school. The only one I remember us covering which I wasn't so keen on at the time was Playboy of the Western World. Maybe if I were to read it again now I'd alter my view. Similarly but opposite, I have particularly fond memories of reading Bill Naughton's 'The Goalkeeper's Revenge and Other Short Stories' whilst in the 1st year (that means I was 11, kids ;) ) I now have a copy on order - I do hope that I haven't allowed reminiscence to have its way with me and I'll be disappointed. :?

The only one I can remember from was Thirty Nine Steps but it would have been in year 2 or 3 at secondary school. I can't say I was enamoured with it at the time.

PS Bruce - There was no way you were ever 11 years old :lol:
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Re: What are you reading tonight?

Post by Bruce Rioja » Wed Aug 16, 2017 9:55 am

You, Malcolm, are a cheeky Herbert. :lol:

Anyway, for grown-up reading purposes I've also just taken delivery of Yuval Noah Harari's books, 'Sapiens' and 'Homo Deus'.

I imagine that they're going to be a little Desmond Morris-esque. Not that that's a bad thing.
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Re: What are you reading tonight?

Post by TANGODANCER » Wed Aug 16, 2017 11:30 am

Despite "The Da Vinci Code" being one of the biggest let down's of all films, I loved the book as truly ground breaking great entertainment, as was "Angels and Demons" (the film of that was quite decent too) . Not over enamoured with"Inferno" or "The Lost Symbol" in this genre, I'll nevertheless read his latest "Origin" with some hope,which will at least be probably better than all the rest of the efforts on the topics of historical religion. I also intend to seek out Mick Heron's much vaunted "Slow Horses" work on the spy genre. I also intend to find Ralph Ellis's "The Grail Cypher" a non fictional work that needs looking at.
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Re: What are you reading tonight?

Post by Bruce Rioja » Wed Aug 16, 2017 12:31 pm

TANGODANCER wrote:
Wed Aug 16, 2017 11:30 am
Despite "The Da Vinci Code" being one of the biggest let down's of all films, I loved the book
See, I went to see the film without having read the book, and it truly was one of the poorest films I've ever seen.
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Re: What are you reading tonight?

Post by TANGODANCER » Wed Aug 16, 2017 1:59 pm

Bruce Rioja wrote:
Wed Aug 16, 2017 12:31 pm
TANGODANCER wrote:
Wed Aug 16, 2017 11:30 am
Despite "The Da Vinci Code" being one of the biggest let down's of all films, I loved the book
See, I went to see the film without having read the book, and it truly was one of the poorest films I've ever seen.
My wife actually bought me the D.V.D Bruce. I watched it a second time to see if it had improved any. Unfortunately, it hadn't. :)
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Re: What are you reading tonight?

Post by Prufrock » Wed Aug 16, 2017 2:17 pm

Book's not great (I wouldn't call it ground-breaking TD :D !!) but the film is pretty wank. It's rare something with Audrey in isn't worth watching again...
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Re: What are you reading tonight?

Post by Bruce Rioja » Wed Aug 16, 2017 3:01 pm

TANGODANCER wrote:
Wed Aug 16, 2017 1:59 pm
Bruce Rioja wrote:
Wed Aug 16, 2017 12:31 pm
TANGODANCER wrote:
Wed Aug 16, 2017 11:30 am
Despite "The Da Vinci Code" being one of the biggest let down's of all films, I loved the book
See, I went to see the film without having read the book, and it truly was one of the poorest films I've ever seen.
My wife actually bought me the D.V.D Bruce. I watched it a second time to see if it had improved any. Unfortunately, it hadn't. :)
My older brother brought the book round to mine imploring me to read it, which I didn't get round to. Having gauged the commotion that the book created and having seen that both Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou were in the film I went to cinema in the highest of hopes. Without having read the book it was blindingly obvious that the film had been dumbed-down to such a level that I actually found it to be rather insulting. It took me all of about 30 minutes to suss out who'd be at the end of the bloodline.
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Re: What are you reading tonight?

Post by LeverEnd » Wed Aug 16, 2017 3:04 pm

Prufrock wrote:
Wed Aug 16, 2017 2:17 pm
Book's not great (I wouldn't call it ground-breaking TD :D !!) but the film is pretty wank. It's rare something with Audrey in isn't worth watching again...
It's a really interesting theory (nicked from someone else), and pretty gripping until about three quarters of the way through when it dissolves into farce. I read another Brown book, which was dreadful and gave up on anything else he's associated with.
...

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Re: What are you reading tonight?

Post by TANGODANCER » Wed Aug 16, 2017 4:50 pm

Prufrock wrote:
Wed Aug 16, 2017 2:17 pm
Book's not great (I wouldn't call it ground-breaking TD :D !!) but the film is pretty wank. It's rare something with Audrey in isn't worth watching again...
It was ground-breaking in its topic (at least the the 80 million pople who bought the book thought so - a fact) and cleverly written as fiction to appeal to the masses rather than just the religious. ( The topic had been raised as non-fiction previously and that almost resulted in a massive court case) I said back then that Dan Brown had taken a load of answers and written a book around the questions - I do believe you agreed at the time. Seeing the film first was a shame for anyone who did :wink:
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Re: What are you reading tonight?

Post by Worthy4England » Wed Aug 16, 2017 6:15 pm

I thought they both passed the time. Step up from my usual heavy reading in Viz. Reasonable escapism. It's not a documentary and as for the religious angle it probably had more facts than the Bible, although these were warped for the narrative. No one would do that now, would they?

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Re: What are you reading tonight?

Post by malcd1 » Wed Aug 16, 2017 6:20 pm

LeverEnd wrote:
Wed Aug 16, 2017 3:04 pm
Prufrock wrote:
Wed Aug 16, 2017 2:17 pm
Book's not great (I wouldn't call it ground-breaking TD :D !!) but the film is pretty wank. It's rare something with Audrey in isn't worth watching again...
It's a really interesting theory (nicked from someone else), and pretty gripping until about three quarters of the way through when it dissolves into farce. I read another Brown book, which was dreadful and gave up on anything else he's associated with.

Sums Dan Brown's books up completely for me. Start and middle quite good and then really stupid that ruined it for me. I think I read two or three before announcing never again.
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Re: What are you reading tonight?

Post by TANGODANCER » Wed Aug 16, 2017 6:59 pm

Worthy4England wrote:
Wed Aug 16, 2017 6:15 pm
I thought they both passed the time. Step up from my usual heavy reading in Viz. Reasonable escapism. It's not a documentary and as for the religious angle it probably had more facts than the Bible, although these were warped for the narrative. No one would do that now, would they?
Christianity/Catholicism is about the only religion you could ( reasonably safely) write a fictional novel around making "revelations" that contradict scripture. This is why Brown's endings taper away, because they are satisfactorily unresolvable or provable as are all the thousand and one novels about Crusaders, Holy Grails and Shroud of Turin . "Angels and Demons" , as "Inferno and The Lost Symbol" , although written around the Vatican, was effectively in the thriller fiction genre and upset no one religiously. The Da Vinci Code was a very clever ploy by Dan Brown to use locations, a few accepted facts and a lot of rumours and legends to make up an enjoyable story (and make himself a lot of money) . The film-makers tried to follow suit and failed miserably by producing a darkly lit and and dreary plot instead of a spectacular. One of the main reasons was probably that they weren't allowed to operate fully on genuine locations, the Vatican, the Louvre and Rosslyn Chapel. Either way, the film flopped and rightly so.
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Re: What are you reading tonight?

Post by Worthy4England » Wed Aug 16, 2017 11:09 pm

I'd be reasonably happy with a 750m buck flop...

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Re: What are you reading tonight?

Post by TANGODANCER » Wed Aug 16, 2017 11:39 pm

Worthy4England wrote:
Wed Aug 16, 2017 11:09 pm
I'd be reasonably happy with a 750m buck flop...
I don 't know what it made or didn't financially, just that it was a big let down in reviews. Probably (like me) people expected a blockbuster film. Here's a clip from such reviews:

"The Da Vinci Code received a 25% "rotten" rating on the film review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes based on a sample of 220 reviews and an average rating of 4.8/10. The critics consensus states: "What makes Dan Brown's novel a best seller is evidently not present in this dull and bloated movie adaptation of The Da Vinci Code."[60] The film was poorly received at the Cannes Film Festival, where it debuted. Michael Medved gave the film a negative review, citing it as "an attack on religion". Anthony Lane of The New Yorker addressed the concerns of Catholics in his film review, stating that the film "is self-evident, spirit-lowering tripe that could not conceivably cause a single member of the flock to turn aside from the faith." In his Movie Guide, Leonard Maltin called the film "a letdown in every respect." Director Howard noted that the overwhelmingly negative reviews were "frustrating" to him.
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Re: What are you reading tonight?

Post by Prufrock » Thu Aug 17, 2017 8:07 am

Worthy4England wrote:
Wed Aug 16, 2017 11:09 pm
I'd be reasonably happy with a 750m buck flop...
I read this you'd be reasonably happy with a 750m back flip!
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Re: What are you reading tonight?

Post by Bruce Rioja » Thu Aug 17, 2017 10:05 am

TANGODANCER wrote:
Wed Aug 16, 2017 6:59 pm
The Da Vinci Code was a very clever ploy by Dan Brown to use locations, a few accepted facts and a lot of rumours and legends to make up an enjoyable story
A very decent call, Tango. A stunt that few can pull. Robert Goddard absolutely excels at taking fact and supposition then weaving a novel around the whole deal.
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Re: What are you reading tonight?

Post by Rjs37 » Fri Aug 18, 2017 10:39 am

Bruce Rioja wrote:
Tue Aug 15, 2017 8:28 pm
Was chatting with a pal a couple of weeks ago about books we read in English Lit lessons at school. The only one I remember us covering which I wasn't so keen on at the time was Playboy of the Western World. Maybe if I were to read it again now I'd alter my view. Similarly but opposite, I have particularly fond memories of reading Bill Naughton's 'The Goalkeeper's Revenge and Other Short Stories' whilst in the 1st year (that means I was 11, kids ;) ) I now have a copy on order - I do hope that I haven't allowed reminiscence to have its way with me and I'll be disappointed. :?
Of Mice and Men is really the only that comes to mind. I think it's about time I re-read that.

Currently I'm reading Bernard Cornwell's Azincourt. Not terribly far into it yet, but he seems to be setting the story up rather well so far.

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Re: What are you reading tonight?

Post by Bruce Rioja » Mon Oct 02, 2017 11:16 am

I have an ever-increasing pile of yet-to-be-read books at home, but this really is a must have.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Over-Out-Henry ... 308&sr=8-1
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Re: What are you reading tonight?

Post by Lost Leopard Spot » Sun Oct 29, 2017 12:52 pm

Le Carre's latest "A Legacy of Spies".
Superb story telling.
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