Yeah all Welsh’s stuff is worth a read but particularly Trainspotting. As good as the film is (and it’s excellent) the book is probably better. Need to get into a few pages to understand the dialect but once you have it, it’s a cracking book.
Ken.
Hows your cunty, Bunty?
Finished a fantastic book lately - Midnight in The Garden of Good and Evil. Fantastic read, true story. Once you read it you have to visit Savannah and that’s an even better experience. Gonna read Confederacy of Dunces next…
Just finished that, it’s rather entertaining.
I’m on a Hunter S. Thompson buzz lately too. Splendid stuff.
Need a few more book recommendations lads. Horsing through the books at the moment thanks to my 3 county rail commute to work so will pick up a bundle of them at the weekend.
Recently read:
- Catcher in the Rye
Had read it years ago but picked it up again and read it. Decent read but don’t love it or anything.
- Indignation by Philip Roth
Another tale of a student type with insecurities and streams of thoughts and all that sort of stuff. Decent enough but way too similar to Catcher in the Rye having read them back to back
- The Lemur by feck it can’t remember the name but it’s John Banville writing under some alias
Easy-reading crime novel about a private detective and a guy writing a book. Unspectacular, weird to compare it to Banville’s more serious stuff
- Netherland by Joseph O’Neill
Best of the recent bunch for me. About a Dutch investment banker living in New York who gets involved in the creation of a New York cricket club and has some odd stuff in his life. Parts of it grated with me a small bit and I wasn’t overly taken by the weirdness in the Chelsea Hotel (didn’t think it was plausible that your man would stay there) but some of the passages about cricket were superbly written. From the descriptions of the groundsman’s work to the talk about his refusal to play lofted shots in spite of the ball not rolling on the shite grass - some superb writing in there. Wasn’t bad at all otherwise, just not outstanding.
Read Yes Man by Danny Wallace - it’s hilarious.
Also, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.
You’re welcome.
KIngs of September about Offally ending kerrys 5 in a row dream is a great great sports book.
Just started Warren Buffets memoirs
Sebastian Barry - The Secret Scripture - is a great read.
I’m reading Matt Rendell’s The Death of Marco Pantani. Very good so far.
Get down your local library. I went down for the first time in 4 years last week and came home with a rake of good books. For free! What a place. 
[quote=“Thrawneen”]I’m reading Matt Rendell’s The Death of Marco Pantani. Very good so far.
Get down your local library. I went down for the first time in 4 years last week and came home with a rake of good books. For free! What a place. :D[/quote]
Excellent book, even if your not into cycling its a classic.
Reading ‘The Dark Heart of Italy’ by Tobias Jones. Basically my kind of book - factually strong, clear prose with a strong sense of the author, and general in scope. Deals with Italians, their government, corruption, their ‘civil wars’, soccer and so on.
Love thrillers. James Patterson etc. Read two brillaint books recently by Lincoln Barclay…The Promise and No Time For Goodbye…highly recommended!
William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year 2008 – Long List
Anyone read any of the below, I’ll probably put a few on my Christmas list. Any recommendations? Some of them look like on the bog reading, I’d say the list must contain EVERY sports book published in Ireland in the last year.
Some great titles though- ‘My Autoboigraphy’ by ROG, tis hardly anyone else’s autobiography he’d be fuckin writing
The Irishman Who Ran for England by Jim Hogan
Foul Play by Joe Humphries
Dick Fitzgerald: King in a Kingdom of Kings by Tom Looney
Trappatoni – A Life in Football by Egon Theiner and Elisabeth Schlammerl
Crashed and Byrned by Tommy Byrne with Mark Hughes
Sonia – My Story by Sonia O’Sullivan with Tom Humphries
Final Whistle – The Paddy Russell Story by Paddy Russell with Jackie Cahill
House of Pain – Through the Rooms of Mayo Football by Keith Duggan
Chairman of the Boards Master of the Mile by Eamonn Coghlan with George Kimball
My Autobiography by Ronan O’Gara with Denis Walsh
The Best of the West – GAA greats of Connacht by John Scally
Sport and Society in Victorian Ireland by Tom Hunt
Mouse Morris – His Extraordinary Racing Life by Declan Colley
Three Kings – The Battle for Hurling Supremacy by Ralph Riegel
Hurling – The Warrior Game by Diarmuid O’Flynn
Faster, Higher, Stronger by Lindie Naughton and Johnny Watterson
The Grand National – The Irish at Aintree by Anne Holland
Green Wickets – Ireland’s Adventures at the 2007 Cricket World Cup by Ed Leahy
Ireland’s Olympians – Beijing and Beyond by Niall O’Flynn
Touching Greatness by Dermot Gillecce
Better than Sex by Mick Fitzgerald with Donn McClean
Reading the Green – The Inside Line on the Irish in the Ryder Cup by PJ Browne
Axel, A Memoir by Anthony Foley
William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year – Judging Panel
Declan McBennett – Sports Editor, RTE TV News
Kieran Holden – Sports Editor, TV3
Deric Henderson – Ireland Editor, Press Association
Jerry O’Sullivan – Sports Editor, Newstalk
Matt Cooper – Broadcaster, Today FM and TV3
George Hook – Broadcaster and Rugby Analyst, Newstalk and RTE
Eamon Dunphy – Broadcaster and Journalist, RTE
Adrian Logan – Sports Editor, UTV
Paul Dempsey – Broadcaster, Setanta Sports
Robbie Irwin – Broadcaster and Journalist, RTE
Gerry Thornley – Journalist, Irish Times and winner of William Hill Irish Sports Book of the Year 2007
While I currently have at least 15 books started, half read, nearly finished, between here and Spain; I’m no expert.
But I would recommend one for everyone here to have to hand whenever the moment takes them; or they need some company.
Over the Bar; Brendan O’hEithir
By the way; My book is pretty good. But at 320k words its probably too much for ye; also Tip gets a hefty mention.
[quote=“Mairegangaire”]While I currently have at least 15 books started, half read, nearly finished, between here and Spain; I’m no expert.
But I would recommend one for everyone here to have to hand whenever the moment takes them; or they need some company.
Over the Bar; Brendan O’hEithir
By the way; My book is pretty good. But at 320k words its probably too much for ye; also Tip gets a hefty mention.[/quote]
Great book MGG
House of Pain is the only one I’ve read there.
What’s your book MGG?
[quote=“Pikeman”]House of Pain is the only one I’ve read there.
What’s your book MGG?[/quote]
Torva Venia
GAA styled Chick Lit. Largely Set in 89/90 between Cork & New York. There’s even a Wexican in it; Seanie Jacob the Irish Shop / Stall holder
The Dubs have a classic Rep too: Waxie Mooney the bookie.
The Irish William Hill award is crap - biased judging panel and it’s merely a reflection of what certain publishers churned out last year. The UK version used to be better but it’s fallen badly in recent years. It’s no longer a barometer of good sports writing.
My war gone by, i miss it so - Anthony Lyod…
quite brutal but a gripping read about a lad going to Bosnia during the troubles…one of the best books i ever read…
[quote=“scumpot”]My war gone by, i miss it so - Anthony Lyod…
quite brutal but a gripping read about a lad going to Bosnia during the troubles…one of the best books i ever read…[/quote]
Read that a good few years ago, brilliant stuff