Recommend a book (1 Viewer)

JohnWH · Jan 20, 2026

Razzle Dazzle Dean Gordon said:
You might want to have a look at Travellers in the Third Reich and Hitler's People also. The former i have read and thought excellent, the latter is in the current 'to be read' pile.

Added to my shopping cart. The descriptions do take my interest. Much appreciated.

ajsccfc · Jan 20, 2026

Razzle Dazzle Dean Gordon said:
Ever read the Friends of Eddie Coyle? That's a good crime based book set back in the 70s.

Not heard of it before but a brief glimpse suggests it's right up my street so I'll have a look for that one, cheers

CCFC_Irish · Jan 21, 2026

A gentleman in Moscow

ajsccfc · Jan 21, 2026

I'm making a conscious effort to read more this year and so far so good (although maybe not in terms of variety, another crime book finished and I've started another since)

King of Ashes by SA Cosby, a successful finance wiz returns to his home town when his father has a car accident only to find that it was no accident and is linked to his brother getting involved with some wrong'uns, delves into their family history and his plan to get them all out of trouble. Absolutely unhinged villains, main character wrestling with their morals, little twists without being overly twisty. Listened to this one and the narrator is fantastic too, he's also narrated Cosby's previous books so there's more added to my list.

ajsccfc · Jan 24, 2026

Finished The Getaway by Jim Thompson, fucking hell. It's 90% an exciting crime caper with two people on the run after a bank robbery and then becomes a surreal horror, had to read the final chapter twice to take it in properly. They've made two film versions of it with neither even trying to tackle the 'proper' ending, probably for the best.

Next up is James, I loved both Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn and this is a telling of the matter from the viewpoint of Jim, can't wait.

Farmer Jim · Jan 27, 2026

All The Birds Singing - Evie Wyld.

Her writing style reminds me very much of early Iain Banks and in particular his outstanding debut with The Wasp Factory.

A young woman, has ended up as a sheep farmer on an un named Scottish Island, having escaped a life as a teenage prostitute in the Australian Outback, having gone on the run from an abusive sheep farmer she had shacked up with and robbed of all of his money.

Something is killing all her sheep on the farm in Scotland.

The way the story is told is really odd and quite difficult to get your head around to start with :

Her life on the Scottish Island is told in the present tense and her life in Australia is told in the past tense, each chapter alternates between her past life in Australia and her present life in Scotland.

It`s a very well written book, if a little strange ( similar to The Wasp Factory ), but once I got my head around the backwards and forwards of Australia and Scotland time lines.

I`d say it`s one that fans of Iain Banks would enjoy.

AOM · Jan 27, 2026

Read a 'A Short Stay in Hell' recently.
Saw it had been recommended quite often in Horror literature threads on Reddit, and I really liked it.
Feels like a book you spend more time thinking about afterwards compared to how long it takes to read.
The ideas really stick with you and it's a pretty horrifying concept of the real nature of eternity.

Ccfcisparks · Jan 28, 2026

Finished The Day of the Triffids.

Enjoyed it.

Sky_Blue_Daz · Jan 28, 2026

My daughter bought me Chris Macasusland's book for my Birthday starting that tonight

Marty · Feb 12, 2026

One second after. Currently about half way and I do have to say it's excellent, best thing I've read in ages.

ajsccfc · Feb 16, 2026

Enjoyed James, it was faithful to Huck Finn to a point but also took licence to tell its own story by nature of it being Jim's story. Benefitted from being the audiobook version I think as the narrator was fantastic. I had a few minor issues in later chapters but nothing that dulled the story, it's easy to forget how shocking casual racism can be when it's just accepted.

Skybluefaz · Feb 16, 2026

Having enjoyed the Reacher TV shows, family bought me 'Exit Strategy' for Xmas. Think it's the 30th in the series and the first I've read. Written by Lee Child's brother Andrew.

Boring plot, dull dialogue. Wouldn't recommend. I don't read a lot of fiction, but I enjoyed doing that for a change. Might give some of the earlier books a go at some point but feeling a bit put off by that stinker.

ajsccfc · Feb 18, 2026

Paradais is an awful story told very well. two boys trapped in life, one a spoilt incel and the other a handyman living in poverty, have a friendship of convenience that sees them build to an abhorrent plan to solve their respective issues that goes as terribly as it possibly can. Quite a short story but told in a stream of consciousness style without chapters which isn't my preference, but works here

Farmer Jim · Feb 18, 2026

Just finished Freddie Flintoff`s auto biog - Coming Home.

I`m not really into auto biographies, as they tend to be poorly written and just full of anecdotes, which become pretty boring quickly.

However, this was very good, well written and I thought it was too short, possibly would`ve benefited from being split into two books :

Young Freddie - pre England.

Older Freddie - England and post England.

I found the earlier chapters, about his rise through school boy / youth cricket, into open age, county and then international cricket, just as interesting as when he was playing for England and felt that the book could covered his rise through the ranks as a youngster in more depth - there certainly seemed to be enough material there.

A really good read.

Joe King · Feb 18, 2026

I'm still reading "Never Ending Story". Started it in 2005!

JohnWH · Feb 26, 2026

Razzle Dazzle Dean Gordon said:
You might want to have a look at Travellers in the Third Reich and Hitler's People also. The former i have read and thought excellent, the latter is in the current 'to be read' pile.

My copy of Travellers in the Third Reich arrived yesterday. It might be in my to-read pile for a few months but I will get to it as soon as practicable.

Thanks for the recommendation. This is proof of this topic post working

Mercian In Anglia · Feb 26, 2026

Nathaniel Philbrick- 'In The Heart Of The Sea'.

True story of the voyage that inspired 'Moby Dick'.

Marty · Feb 27, 2026

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. Fantastic read and edge of the seat stuff. The film was a decent representation of the book.

Flying Fokker · Feb 28, 2026

JohnWH said:
My copy of Travellers in the Third Reich arrived yesterday. It might be in my to-read pile for a few months but I will get to it as soon as practicable.

Thanks for the recommendation. This is proof of this topic post working

Really good book. Also A Village in the Third Reich.

JohnWH · Mar 1, 2026

Saw that too.

Looking forward to getting that too, at some point, read synopsis, reviews, really up my alley.

Captain Dart · Mar 29, 2026

Sky Blue Pete said:
You’ll love the strike ones

I've finally read them all, including the recent book "The Hallmarked Man", could hardly put them down once I started on them in January.

A few observations.
It's very clever the way she binds a detective story that appeals more to men with the emotional roller coaster of Strike & Robin's relationship (and other more peripheral characters) which is more appealing to women, this captures 2 audiences in a way that a James Bond book or a Danielle Steel romance could. If truth be told I'm beginning to find the emotional bits becoming a little over done.
The stories are all set against the backdrop of real UK news events and in real UK locations described very accurately if you know them yourself.
Isn't it shocking that the main characters lie to each other so much.
JK is a damn sight better than Agatha Christie at misdirection but the final reveal sort of follows Christie's pattern.
JK uses such an extensive vocabulary that I sometimes had to look up some of the words she used!
For the last book I took to making a few notes on the suspects & witnesses that appeared in the books there are so many!
I've discovered there is a Strike fandom site which even has GPS data on the locations that appear in the book.

I'd better find something else to read now.

Sky Blue Pete · Mar 29, 2026

Captain Dart said:
I've finally read them all, including the recent book "The Hallmarked Man", could hardly put them down once I started on them in January.

A few observations.
It's very clever the way she binds a detective story that appeals more to men with the emotional roller coaster of Strike & Robin's relationship (and other more peripheral characters) which is more appealing to women, this captures 2 audiences in a way that a James Bond book or a Danielle Steel romance could. If truth be told I'm beginning to find the emotional bits becoming a little over done.
The stories are all set against the backdrop of real UK news events and in real UK locations described very accurately if you know them yourself.
Isn't it shocking that the main characters lie to each other so much.
JK is a damn sight better than Agatha Christie at misdirection but the final reveal sort of follows Christie's pattern.
JK uses such an extensive vocabulary that I sometimes had to look up some of the words she used!
For the last book I took to making a few notes on the suspects & witnesses that appeared in the books there are so many!
I've discovered there is a Strike fandom site which even has GPS data on the locations that appear in the book.

I'd better find something else to read now.

Loved them too

torchomatic · Mar 30, 2026

Brian Lumley's Necroscope novels are ace and well worth seeking out.

Farmer Jim · Mar 30, 2026

torchomatic said:
Brian Lumley's Necroscope novels are ace and well worth seeking out.

Have you read the Metro series by the Soviet author, Dmitry Glukhovsky ?

If not, I think you`ll like them - post nuclear war Russia, where society has retreated to live and survive in the old underground railway system ( The Metro ).

Kind of like Mad Max, but underground - very well written and a must if you`re into dark sc-fi.

andrew.roberts · Mar 30, 2026

Anything by Annie Proulx. The Shipping News or any of the short story compilations (Brokeback Mountain is in one of them) are a good place to start.

Story of a Secret State by Jan Karski (the fellow from the statue in the Jewish quarter of Krakow).

The Regeneration Trilogy by Pat Barker.

Farmer Jim · Mar 30, 2026

Wide Wide Sea - by Hampton Tides.

Brilliantly written chronicle of the third and fatal around the world voyage of Captain Cook, as he sets out to find the then mythical North West Passsge.

The author, Hampton Tides, has the rare ability to turn what could be a very dry subject, into one that`s fascinating due to his easy going writing style and ability to translate " olde worlde " records into easy to understand and read modern English.

I enjoyed this book that much, I`ve just ordered two more by the same author.

Many things blew my mind when reading this book, but the biggest one, was that they were at sea for over five years and that was normal !!

Recommended.

torchomatic · Mar 30, 2026

Farmer Jim said:
Have you read the Metro series by the Soviet author, Dmitry Glukhovsky ?

If not, I think you`ll like them - post nuclear war Russia, where society has retreated to live and survive in the old underground railway system ( The Metro ).

Kind of like Mad Max, but underground - very well written and a must if you`re into dark sc-fi.

Thanks, Jim. Will give that a go.

Farmer Jim · Mar 30, 2026

torchomatic said:
Thanks, Jim. Will give that a go.

Start off with Metro 2033, as the others lead on from it.

They`re crying out to be made into films, as all the ingredients are there, particularly if someone like Dennis Villeneuve got involved.

Marty · Mar 30, 2026

Farmer Jim said:
Start off with Metro 2033, as the others lead on from it.

They`re crying out to be made into films, as all the ingredients are there, particularly if someone like Dennis Villeneuve got involved.

Or just play the video game.

ajsccfc · Mar 30, 2026

Finished Mother Night a few days ago, despite being a 60-year old book about a Nazi war criminal it's very relevant right now with all the current podcast grifters and manosphere twats distancing themselves from the harm they're causing to impressionable audiences. First Vonnegut I've read but I'll be back in for more I think.

Frostie · Mar 30, 2026

Farmer Jim · Apr 3, 2026

Bradley Wiggins auto bio - The Chain.

Wow, I knew the guy had had a few problems, but nothing like he reveals in the book !

Exceptionally well written, fascinating and must`ve cathartic for him.

I particularly enjoyed the chapters about the alter ego he created " Wiggo ", to cope with all the fame and adulation, that we saw on the tv and in the media, after he`d won the tour.

But boy oh boy, was he messed up by his absent father and drugs / drink after he retired.

Recommended.

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