Between the Covers

OldGoat

Not sure how well this will work if at all but can we try a book club thing?
What if we selected a book a month and gave our views on it.
What I'm hoping for here is a move away from the Maeve Binchies and Jodi Picoults and the Adel Parks and other rom/com, rom/rom rom/murder/rom waffle that in now seems to dominating the book lists.
I would like a book club that is not afraid to read a football biography, or an amateurs guide to golf in Ireland written by a Boards member, or just a good oul scifi shoot 'em up.

Dr Galen

excellent idea OldGoat.

I shall have a trawl through the library room and see what I come up with

Otis Driftwood

Cool idea.Unfortunatly I aint got the moniez at the moment to spend on new reading material so Im just re reading alot of what I have.Stupid recession.:mad:

Will

libraries are a great resource ned

I'd be game depending on the book. Wouldn't be mad into soccer and what have you but shall do my best. don't read enough

OldGoat

I don't think that it has to be about new books at all. Some of the most memorable (Note: Didnt say Good) books are old and already on your shelf. We could also try to arrange a book lending system if the need arises. As a book club we can also get some great consessions from libraries where they will gather all the copies of a given title from around the city* and allocate them to a bookclub.

*Dublin City Council Libraries - but I'm sure that other councils do similar.

EDIT: Not mad into the football myself but I'm willing to make some consessions to get this going. We could put a tattoo book on the list ya know. ;-)

Will

tattoo books are generally softcore porn mags masquerading as books

There are some good ones out there though (modern primitives etc.) . I'm open to suggestion though and will give it a shot either way

OldGoat

Will wrote: »

tattoo books are generally softcore porn mags masquerading as books

And your point is? :rolleyes: Win win really. I don't rule out 'art' books here. Mapplethorps photographs, H.R Gigers Alien pictures, Ditas Burlesque and art of tease, New Scientist Review of the Year, Janes Defence Weekly, The Watchmen graphic novel, manga . I refuse to limit books to novels only.

El Guapo!

Well I recently read a book called Digital Fortress by Dan Brown that I'd highly reccommend. Im not really a book reader tbh but I couldn't put it down.
Im new to the GC by the way.....great forum.

tbh

I think that is the best idea I've heard. How about this as a rough framework:

Somebody picks a book. We all have a week to read it and then we'll open a thread to discuss it. This isn't literature, so we'll close the threads after two weeks, say, and then move onto a next one. What do you think? I'm open to suggestions, but, one way or another, this is definitely going to happen

OG, you should have first pick, but I've one or two in mind if you'd like to try something new

trout

I'm not a fan of Dan Brown ... seems like I'm not the only one

I've just read John Irving's memoir The Imaginary Girlfriend ... crackin' read for anyone who has read any of his novels.

If you haven't read anything by John Irving ... get a copy of The Cider House Rules, or The World According to Garp.

Maybe we can get suggestions for say 10 books (you've seen mine) ... starting with whatever gem OldGoat picks for us ... and get cracking ?

Great idea

OldGoat

Oh yeah, right, make me go first, make me the scapego...

I'd said John Irvine to, great reads.

OK, something easy to read, unemcumbered by subility but a cracking yarn I suggest "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman.

tbh

maybe request for a GCBC subforum?

Keano

I will add my name. Generally, I like to read non-fiction but willing to move to the other side!

Dr Galen

maybe push the time limit out to 3 weeks as some peoples might have to buy or source the book first

banshee_bones

May I suggest "Shantaram" by Gregory David Roberts...?

Fajitas!

My most enjoyable recent read was The Ongoing Moment by Geoff Dyer - it is *quite* related to photography, but quite an interested read all the same, looking at societies throughout the ages, why people take on board the images they do, and so on.

Also, if you're interested in the 'visual' side of reading, Ways Of Seeing is a great book to read. I know they're not everybodies 'thing', but they're really interesting to read.

trout

OK ... suggestions so far, based on order of posting.

1. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
2. Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
3. The World According to Garp - John Irving
4. Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
5. The Ongoing Moment - Geoff Dyer

How many do we need before we get started ? Would 10 be enough ?

How do we pick them ? (I really don't want to read Dan Brown again:mad:)

tbh

I think the whole point of a book cub is to read a book you haven't read/heard of before. So, we have five suggestions, I'd be happy enough for someone to pick one of those and we'll give it go - do them one at a time. What do you reckon?

But I'd also like to add "A long, long way" by Sebastian Barry to the list too

OldGoat

1. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
2. Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
3. The World According to Garp - John Irving
4. Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
5. The Ongoing Moment - Geoff Dyer
6. A long, long way - by Sebastian Barry

Makes sense to me to start at the top and work down the list. Simply add new recomendations to the end of the list.

One caviat here though. As this is such a public forum there exists the possiality that we could be inundated with book suggestions that are just being added for the sake of giggles. I would suggest that someone(s) be tasked with the right to vito any suggested title...OR... that any title must be approved of by a vote of... oh I donno, say 5 contributors with a post count of over 50 each.

banshee_bones

Should we add a poll for the first five or just go with it? sorry im a bit confused (im only up out of bed!) OG! Are you saying only if a book is recommended 5 times by posters with a reutable post count will be considered?

OldGoat

I'm just trying to find a mecninism to stop some smartarse coming in and suggesting we read Maeve Binchy or Tuesdays copy of the Sun. Perhaps I over-complicated the selection proscess.:o

banshee_bones

thats ok i hear ya! well im sure if we google any recommendations we will see them for their literary merits! so maybe if everyone could submit the blurb of the book in a couple of sentences with their recommendation it could weed out the messers?

Example :

Shantaram : By Gregory David Roberts

Shantaram is a novel influenced by real events in the life of the author, Australian Gregory David Roberts, filled with mostly fictional adventures. In 1978, Roberts was sentenced to nineteen years' imprisonment in Australia after being convicted of a series of armed robberies of building society branches, credit unions, and shops, which he had committed to feed a heroin addiction after his marriage ended and he lost his daughter. In July 1980, he escaped from Victoria’s Pentridge Prison in broad daylight, thereby becoming one of Australia's most wanted men for the next ten years.
In the fictional story, Roberts' main character arrives in Bombay carrying a fake passport in the name of Lindsay Ford. Bombay was only a stopover on a journey that was to take Lin from New Zealand to Germany, but he decides to stay in the city. Lin soon meets a local man named Prabaker, who he hires as a guide but soon becomes his best friend and renames him Linbaba. Both men visit Prabaker's native village, Sunder, where Prabaker's mother christens Lin with the name Shantaram, meaning Man of God's Peace. On their way back to Bombay and after a night out, Lin and Prabaker are robbed. With all his possessions gone, Lin is forced to live in the slums, giving him shelter from the authorities and free rent in Bombay. After a massive fire on the day of his arrival in the slum, he sets up a free health clinic as a way to contribute to the community.

Otis Driftwood

Looks like Im going to have to get my lie-berry membership renewed.

Can I add to the list -

Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk (its been about 4 years since I read it but its my favourite Palahniuk novel)

or

Mr Blue by Eddie Bunker - (Its Bunker's autobiography.He played Mr Blue in Reservoir Dogs.Started life as a criminal,spent a number of years in jail before getting into acting.A cracking read)

tbh

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055659458

Ned, we'll add books to the list as we go through, yours will be on the next list, but I think we should have a choice of a maximum of five to keep things manageable.

OldGoat

You all realise that I only started this so I could use the great thread title.

CDfm

Andy McNabs books provide an accurate portrayal of the dilemmas facing modern man. His sensitive portrayal of his new man is the noughties is heartbreaking and his portrayal of women realistic and sensible.

The storytelling and social concience of Charles Dickens coupled with the sensitivity of Thomas Hardy and the nutty self absorbed psychotic women of the Brontes adds to this gritty realism.

A modern prophet his books should be read by all men as relationship manuals.

Fajitas!

OldGoat wrote: »

You all realise that I only started this so I could use the great thread title.

I keep on forgetting the title and assume this is a thread about riding that I've drunkenly posted in.

I read a lot of McNab's books when I was younger, my parents passed them on to me - I think I was about 12, they were good then, but I don't think I'd enjoy them anymore - Is he still on the SAS frontlines?

Snowie

Try rick wakemans book I spurted coffee all over a ryan air flight I blamed him

LostinBlanch

+1 to Shantaram, an excellent book based on a true story. Can't wait to see the fillum. A certain J Dep Esquire is taking the lead part. Or so I believe.

Still how about doing something local like any of the Ross O'Carroll Kelly books?

CDfm

Fajitas! wrote: »

I read a lot of McNab's books when I was younger, my parents passed them on to me - I think I was about 12, they were good then, but I don't think I'd enjoy them anymore - Is he still on the SAS frontlines?

Precocious tu:D

Gillo

Suggest "You got nothing coming", it was a great if not slightly scary read.

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