My Favourtie Book
Flano knows the score.
How the fuck does a thread on decent books descend into farce?
Are some people going out of their way to win an internet poll? Reeks of desperation…
KIB might be a mong but Rocko started it therefore the thread turned into a farce because of Rocko therefore Rocko is a mong. :guns:
[quote=“KIB man”]Decent thread this.
Over the bar is a great book alright. The author comes from good stock.
On my travels, what books do ya recommend. Ive always like sports biographies though would hardly stomach Cody. Mickey Harte’s book would probably suit me better. Interesting club battle he had which I wouldnt mind reading more on.
Any of ye read any Vince Lombardi stuff? The best soccer book I read by miles is Only a Game by the Dunph, superb read. Tony Cascarino’s book is a good laugh too, McGrath’s one for obvious reasons. Got the Nicky English one when I was younger and liked it.
Loved history in school. Any of ye recommend any Irish history ones? David Neligans book is bound to be good. A very interesting character. Ed Moloney’s book Secret History of the IRA I used to read on the Tube in London. Good effort but without downgrading its importance the Northern Ireland peace process is a very boring topic after a while.
Have read a lot of business biographies. An interesting one my parents got me was Ivor Kenny’s Leaders a couple of years ago. Must check it up when I get back cos I reckon a lot of those ‘leaders’ will be bust at that stage.
Dont tend to like fiction and cannot read any book with pidgin English such as Trainspotting.[/quote]
On Sports books
Niall Quinns biog is v good, ghosted by Tom Humphreys. Few others Iv read recently Humphries again about Dub Kerry rivalry cant think of the name. Also the book about Offaly Kerry in 1981 is brilliant read, Kings of September.
The Snowball, official Bio of Warren Buffett is a good read with some great anecdotes and stories in there. Kind of book you can drop in and out of which is handy as its an epic.
Read Nothing but an unfinished song there a while back, mentioned it on here before, about Bobby Sands life and the hunger strikes, a decent, reasonably impartial book.
Dont read much fiction myself but just read Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, very good.
[quote=“Rocko”]Trainspotting is an absolute classic you mong.
Bought 6 books last night which may have been a little over the top in retrospect.
Got myself:
- Arthur Miller’s new short story collection (I know he’s dead but it’s a new release in Europe anyway)
- Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin (not sure about it but supposed to be very good)
- John Steinbeck - East of Eden (classic)
- Sports Illustrated - Best Writing 1945 - 2005 (looks good)
- Matt Cooper - Who Really Runs Ireland (recommended by Larry Duff)
- Philip Roth’s new book whatever it’s called[/quote]
Half way through Coopers book, v good, surprising how much new info (to me anyways!) is in it really. V easy to get carried away book shopping I find, end up buying a load of books you wont read for years.
[quote=“KIB man”]Everyone is entitled to their opinion you tard.
Love the film Trainspotting but I just cant read that pidgin tard english. One of Mark Twain’s books is written the same way.[/quote]
Not sure Id call it pidgin English, its written in their dialect?! Savage book alright, far better than the film. Another good Irivine Welsh one is reheated cabbage (I think) a collection of short stories he wrote over the years.
True enough. Charlie Byrnes in Galway is a savage spot for browsing, you’d find real gems that would be nowhere else. Bought ten for a quid each a few months ago and I won’t be finished them this time next year. Christmas will see me through a few of them.
Nearly finished Wuthering Heights; planning to read Lolita after that.
Rocko and his soapbox.
Lolita is a cracking read… Banned in Ireland for a long time too.
Flick back: 10 years, 10 important books
They wouldn’t all make a list of the best books of the decade, but here, in no particular order, are the most influential, ground-breaking, trend-setting, talked-about or plain unputdownable books of the decade, writes FIONA McCANN
NO LOGO
Naomi Klein (2000)
The anti-corporate globalisation movement found its manifesto in this brand-whacking bestseller from Canadian journalist Naomi Klein. Millions choked on their Starbuck skinny lattes.
THE GOD DELUSION
Richard Dawkins (2006)
The British biologist makes a compelling case for atheism, while simultaneously attacking that for religion. The book became a surprise bestseller, and Dawkins a mainstream name, even recently namechecked by Peaches Geldof in an interview. Now that’s influence.
A HEARTBREAKING WORK OF STAGGERING GENIUS
Dave Eggers (2000)
Eggers’s memoir about bringing up his younger brother after his parents’ death crashed through the fourth wall with its self-referential plays with the passage of time, the format of the book and the characters’ awareness of their role therein. It also paved the way for a whole school of young American writers in the mode of McSweeney’s, the publishing house Eggers’ founded.
THE POPE’S CHILDREN
David McWilliams (2006)
Was there a time before RoboPaddy and Breakfast Roll Man were household names? Like him or loathe him, McWilliams defined the Celtic Tiger in this book about the boom generation, and their labels – along with their legacy – will stay with us forever.
FAST FOOD NATION
Eric Schlosser (2001)
What’s in it, what it does to us, why we eat it: Schlosser’s in-depth examination of fast food turned millions off their Big Macs, and paved the way for Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma .
THE CORRECTIONS
Jonathan Franzen (2001)
The book where Franzen managed to explode the myth of the white picket-fenced all-American family, while taking on the all-American daytime television queen, Oprah Winfrey. When he expressed public discomfort at being included in her book club choice, he kick-started a debate about corporate endorsements and “high art” that divided the literary world. And sold a lot of books.
THE DA VINCI CODE
Dan Brown (2003)
He has spawned a whole new generation of thriller writers, not to mention conspiracy theorists, though his greatest legacy may well be the reminder not to believe everything you read in fiction. Still makes you look at The Last Supper with a different eye.
THE MISEDUCATION OF ROSS O’CARROLL-KELLY
Paul Howard (2000)
This book heralded the arrival of Irish rugby legend, the Dort-speaking Ross O’Carroll-Kelly, who, in his own words “rips the complete” out of affluent south Dubliners. In his popular creation, Paul Howard proves that there’s still a place for satire in 21st-century Ireland, roysh?
PERSEPOLIS: THE STORY OF A CHILDHOOD
Marjane Satrapi (English version 2003)
This powerful memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic revolution sold like hot cakes while stirring up its own controversies about Satrapi’s “westernised” take on her native country. It also brought a whole new audience to graphic novels, reminding people that comics could take on weighty themes and were not just the preserve of adolescent males.
THE TIPPING POINT
Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
These days, everybody from Al Gore to Auntie Bridie is talking about tipping points, but before Malcolm Gladwell’s popular take on the sociological phenomena nobody could tell a maven from a connector. Imagine.
© Irish Times
I’m going to renew the recommendation I gave for Netherland earlier in this thread.
Smashing novel. There are one or two parts of it that I didn’t like but if you’ve any interest in cricket (even a small bit) then the cricket writing in it is superb in my opinion.
Read “Never let me go” by Kazuo Ishiguro recently.
Excellent read.
Was disappointed with Sebastian Faulkner’s “One week in December” though. It could basically have been the plot for a Channel 4 mini series.
So who got good books for Christmas?
Mrs Fitzy bought me Antony Beevor’s new one, D-Day The Battle for Normandy which is excellent. I really liked Stalingrad and Berlin, and this is not disappointing (I thought the war in Spain was overly long and confusing).
I also got a great book by an Aussie journo called Steve Cannane - First Tests. Its premise is that the truly great sportspeople have practised their sport for at least 10000 hours. So he goes back to childhood backyard cricket games played by many of Australia’s best cricketers, the argument being that they all played for hours on end at home with family and friends (I can’t wait to get to the chapter about the Chappells) - and the worrying fact that as kids become more attuned to Wii and shit like that, the amount of informal play is constantly decreasing. Its a very interesting book and one with a universal relevance across all sports and countries.
Turenne, what did you think of Wuthering Heights? Its one of my favourite books.
Finished “Playing with the enemy”, there. A good read,. mixing politics and sport from SA.
Am starting one of the new Ludlum/Bourne ghost written books. I don’t hold out much hope but we’ll see.
Also read the intro to Carl Hiassen’s “Fairways to Hell” last night. I love Hiassen, find his books fantastic
read the third policeman by flann o brien…fookin madness of the book…
there are some very funny characters in it and while i like a bit of madness in a book this has far too much of it…
[quote=“scumpot”]read the third policeman by flann o brien…fookin madness of the book…
there are some very funny characters in it and while i like a bit of madness in a book this has far too much of it…[/quote]
Fucking love that book. Can’t get into At Swim Two Birds at all but think Third Policeman is sensational. Can see how it might not be everyone’s cup of tea though, you’d want to be in the form for it.