What are you reading tonight?

[mrkint]

Catch 22 is a great book. Eff you all.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

Catch 22 is a great book. Eff you all.

fairy nuff.

[LeverEnd]

Haven't read Catch-22, but must. Catcher in the Rye is fab. Tropic of Cancer is OK, not great, but not not great. Gravity's Rainbow is absolute self-indulgent bullshit of the finest order. Just don't even bother.

See, such a response only piques my curiosity further. I can't say I haven't been warned!

[Prufrock]

Ha, another contrarian on the boards. We haven't got enough of those

If you do read it, let me know if you manage to work out what's going on.

[mrkint]

Anyone got that new David Peace book about Shankly's time at Liverpool, Red or Dead?

Peace wrote The Damned United, so interested to see how this endeavour goes. 700 pages, though. Get an editor, son.

[Bruce Rioja]

Anyone got that new David Peace book about Shankly's time at Liverpool, Red or Dead?

Peace wrote The Damned United, so interested to see how this endeavour goes. 700 pages, though. Get an editor, son.

Saw him interviewed on C4 the other day. I get the impression that the book's more about the demise of what he terms 'true socialism' than it is about Shankly.

[LeverEnd]

Anyone got that new David Peace book about Shankly's time at Liverpool, Red or Dead?

Peace wrote The Damned United, so interested to see how this endeavour goes. 700 pages, though. Get an editor, son.

Saw him interviewed on C4 the other day. I get the impression that the book's more about the demise of what he terms 'true socialism' than it is about Shankly.

I'll have a read of that. He's hard work but well worth it. Thought The Damned United was excellent and GB84 very good too. Anyone read his Tokyo trilogy?

[mrkint]

I've got Occupied City, LE. Got about two-thirds of the way through it but the style really started to grate and I put it down and haven't picked it up again in about a year. Interesting premise and story though. But just really...urgh.

[Bruce Rioja]

Anyone got that new David Peace book about Shankly's time at Liverpool, Red or Dead?

Peace wrote The Damned United, so interested to see how this endeavour goes. 700 pages, though. Get an editor, son.

Saw him interviewed on C4 the other day. I get the impression that the book's more about the demise of what he terms 'true socialism' than it is about Shankly.

I'll have a read of that. He's hard work but well worth it. Thought The Damned United was excellent and GB84 very good too. Anyone read his Tokyo trilogy?

The subject of authors using their works to foist their political leanings on their audience has been brought up a few times on here, LE. I'm dead set against it, regardless of where their politics lie. If someone writes a book about Bill Shankly then I'm up for buying it. If they want to write one about their own political views then fine, but I'm not interested. If they want to try and combine the two in one book then I'm not buying that either.

I've a near new copy of Stuart Maconie's Pies & Prejudice going free to a good home here if you want it - think I got about 20 pages in.

[bobo the clown]

I've a near new copy of Stuart Maconie's Pies & Prejudice going free to a good home here if you want it - think I got about 20 pages in.

That's a shame Bruce. Admittedly you have to tolerate the old " we're downtrodden, we are" stuff a bit but it is a good reed.

"Cider with Roadies" is good too.

[LeverEnd]

The subject of authors using their works to foist their political leanings on their audience has been brought up a few times on here, LE. I'm dead set against it, regardless of where their politics lie. If someone writes a book about Bill Shankly then I'm up for buying it. If they want to write one about their own political views then fine, but I'm not interested. If they want to try and combine the two in one book then I'm not buying that either.

I've a near new copy of Stuart Maconie's Pies & Prejudice going free to a good home here if you want it - think I got about 20 pages in.

Fair comment, I can see how that might grate. Who were the other authors btw?

[Bruce Rioja]

I've a near new copy of Stuart Maconie's Pies & Prejudice going free to a good home here if you want it - think I got about 20 pages in.

That's a shame Bruce. Admittedly you have to tolerate the old " we're downtrodden, we are" stuff a bit but it is a good reed.

"Cider with Roadies" is good too.

It was more the "we're downtrodden, we are, because of Thatcher" really, Bobo.

[William the White]

I've a near new copy of Stuart Maconie's Pies & Prejudice going free to a good home here if you want it - think I got about 20 pages in.

That's a shame Bruce. Admittedly you have to tolerate the old " we're downtrodden, we are" stuff a bit but it is a good reed.

"Cider with Roadies" is good too.

It was more the "we're downtrodden, we are, because of Thatcher" really, Bobo.

sounds more promising than your usual reading, imho...

[Bruce Rioja]

I've a near new copy of Stuart Maconie's Pies & Prejudice going free to a good home here if you want it - think I got about 20 pages in.

That's a shame Bruce. Admittedly you have to tolerate the old " we're downtrodden, we are" stuff a bit but it is a good reed.

"Cider with Roadies" is good too.

It was more the "we're downtrodden, we are, because of Thatcher" really, Bobo.

sounds more promising than your usual reading, imho...

To you, of course. Would you like it? I won't be reading it.

[William the White]

To you, of course. Would you like it? I won't be reading it.

Yes please - I've got rid of two from the shelf of shame this year - and it's only mid August...

[CAPSLOCK]

I enjoyed Pies
Despite Maconie

[thebish]

The subject of authors using their works to foist their political leanings on their audience has been brought up a few times on here, LE. I'm dead set against it, regardless of where their politics lie. If someone writes a book about Bill Shankly then I'm up for buying it. If they want to write one about their own political views then fine, but I'm not interested. If they want to try and combine the two in one book then I'm not buying that either.

I've a near new copy of Stuart Maconie's Pies & Prejudice going free to a good home here if you want it - think I got about 20 pages in.

I know you've brought this up before - and clearly Maconie irritates you in his style of writing - fair enough! but I'm still struggling to understand the problem... Maconie clearly associates times of his life and place with both music and politics - places have associations as do particular times in our lives. For Maconie - clearly "place" and music and politics are all meshed together in his memory and so when he writes about his youth or particular places or music it's (for him) very difficult to separate off the strands - nor is it obvious why he should bend over backwards to try to expunge the politics from his memory/experience..

surely it is possible to read about somebody's life and their memory and recollections - including how they thought/think politically - and still enjoy it even though you don't share their experience/politics? I'm not sure how someone recalling how they thought as they lived/worked in a place politically is "foisting" their politics on you - it's just recounting their own story which includes the whole breadth of associations that a particular place and time has for them, surely?

anyway - I enjoyed it - and i'm sure you can find william a spanish translation which he too can enjoy!

[Bruce Rioja]

The subject of authors using their works to foist their political leanings on their audience has been brought up a few times on here, LE. I'm dead set against it, regardless of where their politics lie. If someone writes a book about Bill Shankly then I'm up for buying it. If they want to write one about their own political views then fine, but I'm not interested. If they want to try and combine the two in one book then I'm not buying that either.

I've a near new copy of Stuart Maconie's Pies & Prejudice going free to a good home here if you want it - think I got about 20 pages in.

I know you've brought this up before - and clearly Maconie irritates you in his style of writing - fair enough! but I'm still struggling to understand the problem... Maconie clearly associates times of his life and place with both music and politics - places have associations as do particular times in our lives. For Maconie - clearly "place" and music and politics are all meshed together in his memory and so when he writes about his youth or particular places or music it's (for him) very difficult to separate off the strands - nor is it obvious why he should bend over backwards to try to expunge the politics from his memory/experience..

surely it is possible to read about somebody's life and their memory and recollections - including how they thought/think politically - and still enjoy it even though you don't share their experience/politics? I'm not sure how someone recalling how they thought as they lived/worked in a place politically is "foisting" their politics on you - it's just recounting their own story which includes the whole breadth of associations that a particular place and time has for them, surely?

anyway - I enjoyed it - and i'm sure you can find william a spanish translation which he too can enjoy!

If I were to write my memoirs, my personal politics wouldn't come in to them. Recollecting how they thought/think politically is one thing, using your book to ram home your opinion is quite another. Struggle away.

[thebish]

If I were to write my memoirs, my personal politics wouldn't come in to them. Recollecting how they thought/think politically is one thing, using your book to ram home your opinion is quite another. Struggle away.

nay bother - we think differently - having read cider with roadies and pies & prejudice and Adventures on the high Teas - I just didn't read the politics as in anyway "ramming" - just a clear association with time and place - recollecting...

perhaps you could quote a passage or refer me to a page where you think it's particularly bad?

[Bruce Rioja]

If I were to write my memoirs, my personal politics wouldn't come in to them. Recollecting how they thought/think politically is one thing, using your book to ram home your opinion is quite another. Struggle away.

nay bother - we think differently - having read cider with roadies and pies & prejudice and Adventures on the high Teas - I just didn't read the politics as in anyway "ramming" - just a clear association with time and place - recollecting...

perhaps you could quote a passage or refer me to a page where you think it's particularly bad?

As I recall, I did reach a particular point at which I thought 'sod this'. If I remember I'll dig it out and find it.