66'Roadster
(Banned)
- 938
Which book are you currently reading?
- Thread starter made in holland
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- Scotland
- GTP_daan
- 2,376
- Stockholm, Swe
- GTP_Anghammarad
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- GTP_GTPrologue5
- None
Read From a Buick 8 by Stephen King. Good book, but there's a lack of action. The characters are telling a story in the book, and it's not really suspenseful until the end.
66'Roadster
(Banned)
- 938
- 5,494
- Melbourne, Living the dream
- Aldo_GTP
Aldo
Just finished this.
I read the final 100 pages in my bed tonight/this morning.
Fairly interesting autobiography if you're into tennis. 👍
Next on the list is Pete Sampras' biography, maybe after the next book in the Inspector Rebus series.by Ian Rankin.
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- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
Flesh House by Stuart McBride
The thing that sustains this novel is the hook - and it's a genuinely creepy one at that. In the author's own words, "What if someone decided that cannibalism is a team sport, and everyone gets to play?". The premise is centred on a serial killer who passes his victims off as meat in order to dispose of them, which is a plainly uncomfortable thought. It's meant to be. But when you get to the end of the story, something feels like it's missing.
Flesh House suffers from what I call "The Man with the Golden Gun Syndrome". When the film was made, two separate scripts were put together - one involved James Bond going up against the legendary assassin Francisco Scaramanga, while the other explored the means to end the energy crisis of 1973. Halfway through production, the decision was made to merge the two scripts together; however, the plot holes and unexplained jumps in logic make it quite obvious that only the bare minimum necessary to tie the two films together was done.
So it is with Flesh House, though it's done much better. MacBride has two separate, strong ideas - involuntary cannibalism being one, and a second that I won't spoil because it's a neat little twist ending - and bleeds them together enough that everything makes sense, but given the flow of the story, it does feel like he came up with the second idea halfway through because he didn't have an ending in mind.
There are a few other problems with it; for one, the success of some characters is usually a direct result of the incompetence of others, particularly early on. And MacBride gets a little distracted by the subplots, revisiting them three or four times, which drags the story down. And some of the character relationships are vague if you're a newcomer to the Logan McRae series (Flesh House is the third or fourth book). There's enough exposition for the major relationships, but in one particular case, I was halfway through the book before I realised one of the characters - DI Steel - is actually a lesbian. A very butch lesbian. So in a few places, it seems MacBride is taking his readers' familiarity with the Loganverse for granted. But it's a minor flaw.
Overall, the book is nigthmare fuel given the subject matter. But the second act is weak because the investigation takes so long (and I swear the characters spend about fifty pages doing nothing but yell at one another about what idiots they are), and really relies on the reader still being attached to the hook to keep interest going.
The thing that sustains this novel is the hook - and it's a genuinely creepy one at that. In the author's own words, "What if someone decided that cannibalism is a team sport, and everyone gets to play?". The premise is centred on a serial killer who passes his victims off as meat in order to dispose of them, which is a plainly uncomfortable thought. It's meant to be. But when you get to the end of the story, something feels like it's missing.
Flesh House suffers from what I call "The Man with the Golden Gun Syndrome". When the film was made, two separate scripts were put together - one involved James Bond going up against the legendary assassin Francisco Scaramanga, while the other explored the means to end the energy crisis of 1973. Halfway through production, the decision was made to merge the two scripts together; however, the plot holes and unexplained jumps in logic make it quite obvious that only the bare minimum necessary to tie the two films together was done.
So it is with Flesh House, though it's done much better. MacBride has two separate, strong ideas - involuntary cannibalism being one, and a second that I won't spoil because it's a neat little twist ending - and bleeds them together enough that everything makes sense, but given the flow of the story, it does feel like he came up with the second idea halfway through because he didn't have an ending in mind.
There are a few other problems with it; for one, the success of some characters is usually a direct result of the incompetence of others, particularly early on. And MacBride gets a little distracted by the subplots, revisiting them three or four times, which drags the story down. And some of the character relationships are vague if you're a newcomer to the Logan McRae series (Flesh House is the third or fourth book). There's enough exposition for the major relationships, but in one particular case, I was halfway through the book before I realised one of the characters - DI Steel - is actually a lesbian. A very butch lesbian. So in a few places, it seems MacBride is taking his readers' familiarity with the Loganverse for granted. But it's a minor flaw.
Overall, the book is nigthmare fuel given the subject matter. But the second act is weak because the investigation takes so long (and I swear the characters spend about fifty pages doing nothing but yell at one another about what idiots they are), and really relies on the reader still being attached to the hook to keep interest going.
Ugh. I read that for year twelve English a few years ago. It has absolutely no redeeming value as a text - there are multiple problems with it that I won't go into here because I'm not sure if there's a character limit to posts (and because I'll be here all night writing it). Suffice to say, it was clearly written to keep in with the theme of the unit work, and it failed miserably. It would be like a thriller writer publishing a teenybopper vampire romance novel simply because they sell well.
- 6,041
- Puget Sound
- Crash852
Bossypants by Tina Fey
It's a collection of stories from Tina Fey's life, and the things that she's learned about working with people, managing people, and general life lessons illustrated through anecdotal stories. Short read, and many of the stories were funny.
It's a collection of stories from Tina Fey's life, and the things that she's learned about working with people, managing people, and general life lessons illustrated through anecdotal stories. Short read, and many of the stories were funny.
66'Roadster
(Banned)
- 938
The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
- 680
- somewhere in PA
- deadcell96
Started off pretty slow. Just finished Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah.
- 2,007
- Los Angeles
- GTP_DrivingPark
- Finetales
I'm now reading The Man in the White Suit and The World According to Clarkson, both of which arrived at my house yesterday evening. Already on page 281 of the first one. 
- 13,818
- Alabama
I'm currently reading Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh. I'm about half way through it. Really enjoying it.
Today I picked up In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives by Steven Levy. It looks to be good as well.
Today I picked up In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives by Steven Levy. It looks to be good as well.
- 6,041
- Puget Sound
- Crash852
I do think that knowing who Tina Fey helps in making the book better/funnier/more interesting/whatever you want to term it. The stories are of a girl growing up in the 70s and 80s, and of an adult woman in American media in the 90s and 00s; they are well written, and does point out some of the idiosyncrasies of American culture through her own experiences, and her journey to now an at least relatively successful and visible media star. Knowing that Tina Fey is a comedian, and being aware of her works help, I think, put some of her stories into perspective.
Also, I don't know where your location is, but I think her book relates more to the US, and for someone not as familiar with the US, it would seem more like a collection of humorous stories.
- 7,843
- Leiria
- jpfctf
- jpfctf
I don't think there's anyone in the world who isn't familiar with the US.
Of course I'm exaggerating here, but for you to get an idea, here in Portugal we got to see the Saturday Night Live series (where Tina Fey worked). And I don't mean on NBC cable channel, but on a Portuguese network (although cable-only), with subtitles.
Anyway, I appreciate your answer, but in the meantime I decided not to gift that book and go for something else. 👍
Of course I'm exaggerating here, but for you to get an idea, here in Portugal we got to see the Saturday Night Live series (where Tina Fey worked). And I don't mean on NBC cable channel, but on a Portuguese network (although cable-only), with subtitles.
Anyway, I appreciate your answer, but in the meantime I decided not to gift that book and go for something else. 👍
- 7,843
- Leiria
- jpfctf
- jpfctf
Just finished this:
Hank Moody - God Hates Us All
I won't recommend this to anyone (not even to Californication fans - with which the story has no relation whatsoever), but truth is it me kept glued and I've read it in 3 or 4 nights.
Anyway, I've now started this:
Stieg Larsson - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Hope it lives up to the hype.
Hank Moody - God Hates Us All
I won't recommend this to anyone (not even to Californication fans - with which the story has no relation whatsoever), but truth is it me kept glued and I've read it in 3 or 4 nights.
Anyway, I've now started this:
Stieg Larsson - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Hope it lives up to the hype.
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