Recommend a Book

Deiseblue said:
Reading P G Wodehouse - the Blandings omnibus.
A lift for these depressing times.
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I have some of the BBC radio versions of the stories downloaded for a rainy day.
But keep going to back of queue as I try to keep up with current BBC radio output.

Currently listening to the abridged version of Kazuo Ishuguro's new novel Klara and the Sun.
 
Sycamore Row - John Grisham. Interesting read on the profession and carry-on of lawyers in the USA. In this case the Southern States where Seth Hubbard changed his will and almost immediately hanged himself from a tree in Sycamore Row. The original will looked after his son, daughter and grandchildren, but when he changed the will he awarded 90% of $24M to his black housekeeper/cook, the remaining 10% to be divided by the church and his long lost brother.

Some witnesses were paid handsomely to give evidence. Lawyers kept as much information from their legal adversaries as they could get away with. The book was well crafted by JG who himself was a small town lawyer back in the day. It's an easy read through 600 pages but each paragraph leads to the next and the storyline was terrific. I found the book in Ceannt Railway Station where a bring-a-book, take-a-book shelf is nestled next to the station toilet.
 
"Never Mind the B#ll*cks, Here's the Science" by Professor Luke O'Neill.

What have Dolly Parton, the Kray Twins and Cesare Lombroso got in common? Read Luke's book to be enlightened. Whether it's all B#ll*cks, or all Science I'll leave you to decide.
 
Using Borrow Box quite a bit recently - free with your local library membership. Just finished listening to Kevin Barry's short story collection -

That Old Country Music by Kevin Barry review – wild, witty stories

The west of Ireland teems with canny characters and vivid language in the author’s third collection
www.theguardian.com
He's a fantastic reader of his work - I loved Night Boat to Tangier - and all his other works.

Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry review – darkly comic voyage into the abyss

Ageing Irish gangsters trade banter in a Spanish ferry terminal, in this beautifully written two-hander about crime’s toll on the soul
www.theguardian.com
 
All we shall know by Donal Ryan. Fiction is not usually my bag, but I really enjoyed this. Superbly written - the guy has some way with words. Also, challenged my thoughts on a few things along the way.

Currently reading In the woods by Tana French and it's really good.
 
Has anyone read the Mickey Haller series by Michael Connolly? The reviews on Amazon are very good and was thinking of reading them.
 
Alan Lee's books "Mackenzie August Series" are worth a read - there are some good offers via Amazon kindle at the moment.
 
The Witness - ghostwritten by Nicola Tallant (Sunday World):- Written in the first person telling the story of Joey "The Lips" O'Callaghan Ireland's youngest person at 19 to use the Witness Protection Programme. It's a book that was well written and could be read at break-neck speed. It describes how easy it is for young teenagers to get involved in serious crime. Some major Dublin criminals get a mention and how they became revered in some areas. Joey gets his first paid job working on a milk float driven by Brian Kenny a low grade Dublin criminal on the rise to some dreadful criminal notoriety including murder. No punches are pulled with the involvement with criminals and life after in the UK within the Witness Protection Programme. It was published in 2021 and well worth a read.
 
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Firefly said:
Has anyone read the Mickey Haller series by Michael Connolly? The reviews on Amazon are very good and was thinking of reading them.
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I've read nearly all of Connolly's books, currently reading "The Law of Innocence" which is a Mickey Haller novel and would highly recommend any of his books Bosch or Haller as a good read. He's also done a few stand alone books like "The Poet" and "Blood Work" which you may remember was made into a film of the same name by Clint Eastwood
odyssey06 said:
It looks like there's a TV adaptation of Mickey Haller coming so I'm looking forward to that:
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Delighted to hear this as I really enjoyed the Bosch series on Prime so hoping this is going to be just as enjoyable when it arrives

Another good series author is Lee Child and his character Jack Reacher which has also just got it's own series on Prime as well
 
Two steps Forward, One Step Back: My Life in the Music Business by Miles A. Copeland III

Manager of the Police, Go Gos, Squeeze, Jools Holland and owner of the label (IRS) where REM began their rise in the 1980s - his Dad also co-founded the CIA.

A surprisingly good read and insight into the music business in the 70s and 80s.
 
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe
A really well written and researched book on The Troubles, particularly focussing on the Jean McConville disappearance but going into great detail on a number of the players on the Republican side. Some of it is well known at this stage but there were some fascinating insights and the author does a really good job of relating different views without taking sides.
 
Thanks for that!
 
For peels of laughter, AA Gill - Uncle Dysfunctional

"Uncompromising answers to life's most painful problems"

Here's a short example

Q. what is the best revenge for a cheating fiancé?
A. Marry him.
 
Thanks again for the recommendation, really enjoyed it.

Have also recently read the following and found them great reads

Left For Dead: 30 Years On - The Race is Finally Over - Nick Ward, Sinead O'Brien
First hand account of the fateful Fastnet race in 1979

Before & Laughter - Jimmy Carr
I really like Jimmy Carr's style of comedy where you laugh and about half a second later realise that you shouldn't have really.
Great advice for life

A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal
Ben Macintyre
 
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