Recommend a book to your fellow NOOLiners

Easy peasy:

1- What is the last book you've read?

2- Which book would you recommend for the holidays?

3- Which is your all time favourite book?

Ooh goody, a book club!!

1-The last book I read was Glue by Irvine Welsh - very entertaining.

2-Holiday book?? I read Glue on holiday, and it was a bit bizarre reading about hard times in Edinburgh council flats whilst on a Greek beach....my friend Sarah says White Teeth by Zadie Smith is a good holiday read.

3-My favourite book of all time is Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kurieshi - I rarely re-read books, and I've read this loads. Blonde by Joyce Carole Oates is also very good, especially if you're a Marilyn fan like me (that's as in Monroe, not 80's one hit wonder and friend of Boy George).

Cheers Swotty Kez

1. One for my baby by Tony Parsons (not bad for a pretentious git)

2. Powder by Kevin Sampson (a rather good take on the pitfalls of rock stardom) or White Merc with Fins by James Hawes or He Kills Coppers or The Long firm both by Jake Arnott or anything by John King

3. Far too many good books to rate one above them all

Happy Budvar

1 - Florida Roadkill by Tim Dorsey. An excellent and thoroughly relentless fucked-up road-movie of a novel with some really creative and downright deranged ways of bumpin' off the unsuspecting victims. Sadistic as hell, but compulsively entertaining....Well worth a read.

2 - A Travel Guide - wot else d'ya think? Okay, seriously.....Florida Roadkill as a most recent one. A Big Boy Did It And Ran Away by Christopher Brookmyer is also very entertaining for pretty much the same reasons - if you love your narratives spiked with stories of sabotage, double-crossing, revenge and lots of playfully gratuitous violence - all done with the utmost ingenuity of course!

3 - I always loved Kes by Barry Hines as a kid - for two reasons - it was a book we read at school and everyone looked forward to the English Lit lessons as we could all cuss an' swear as much as we liked in class (the text is peppered with expletives), secondly it more or less paralleled the kind of existence I had as a scrawny little troublemakin' thug in the town where I used to live just outside Newcastle.

1. nick hornby's about a boy. (read the book. the book is so much better than the movie

2. favourite book? hm, Flyboy Action Hero Comes with Gasmask. by Jim Monroe. great book, really funny.

3. read books on holidays? um, if you want to kill time and not too many brain cells, try those trashy teen thriller novels. yep, there's nothing more appropiate for the holidays than a book about a serial killer who only kills cheerleaders.:D;) hang um, shoot um, burn um', poision um, a nice accident maybe?

Ooops, Forgot to put mine!

1- Currently reading: Black & Blue by Ian Rankin, a novel from the DI Rebus series. As it takes place in Scotland I figured out it would help me understand The Shugster, then I learned that the Shugster's real name is Percy Cecil Longbow-Whittsnall but by then I was hooked. Very good book only they drink so much on it that you find yourself thirsty after a few pages. Now I need books on Huntmanesque and Rocket Science.

2- Holiday Read: From Joy Division To New Order Taking Every Available Detour And Telling It Like If It Were An Enthomology Lesson. Well, it does what it says in the tin but is a must-read anyway.

3- Favourite Book: "Lord of the Rings" it has always been since I read it first when I was 10. Film's pretty good too.

last few read - rommel? gunner who? & adolf hitler: his part in my downfall by spike milligan (going throught the series), about a boy (not seen the film), mr vertigo by paul auster & e-males by some bloke or other

holiday reads - definitely go for long books, violence does seem to go well with holidays. weaveworld by clive barker, glitterama by bret easton ellis were two read on last holiday.

fave? who killed the mocking bird was good, are you dave gorman was hilarious.

Originally posted by Budvar Huber Easy peasy:

1- What is the last book you've read?

2- Which book would you recommend for the holidays?

3- Which is your all time favourite book?

1. Currently reading the Championship Manager 01/02 tactics and tips guide, and Fight The Power by Chuck D (a frightening work) but the last one I finished was a Prince II handbook.

2. Depends where you are going really - if it's a long journey then an Anne Rice Vampire series book is usually something to get your teeth into (boom boom :))

3. Several. Nick Hornby's High Fidelity maybe, or Thomas Harris's Red Dragon/Silence of the Lambs/Hannibal, Complicity by Iain Banks, White Merc wih Fins by James Hawes, The Secret History by Donna Tartt (excellent), The Village Cricket Tour by Vernon Coleman. Trainspotting/The Acid House/Filth by Irvine Welsh.

Originally posted by Kez-bah Ooh goody, a book club!! 3-My favourite book of all time is Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kurieshi -

Excellent choice - I love his stuff !

Originally posted by Easy E

or Thomas Harris's Red Dragon/Silence of the Lambs/Hannibal,

Don't you find Hannibal a bit of a letdown. I mean, Red Dragon was great and so was The Silence but Hannibal dissapointed me with the reinvention of Lecter as a clavicembalo playing, all things fine expert East European Nobleman whose parciality to human flesh is all too understandable due to sad experiences in his childhood?

Hubert and Mr Hacienda - in 'Kes' and 'One for my Baby', you both chose books that make me cry...

Originally posted by hibster glitterama by bret easton ellis were two read on last holiday.

par chance do you mean Glamorama ?? (been on the cider again Hibster ?)

Originally posted by Budvar Huber

Originally posted by Easy E

or Thomas Harris's Red Dragon/Silence of the Lambs/Hannibal,

Don't you find Hannibal a bit of a letdown. I mean, Red Dragon was great and so was The Silence but Hannibal dissapointed me with the reinvention of Lecter as a clavicembalo playing, all things fine expert East European Nobleman whose parciality to human flesh is all too understandable due to sad experiences in his childhood?

But there had always been allusions to Lecter's tastes (in terms of finery :)) in Silence of the Lambs - Hannibal was the first real chance for Harris to flesh out the character (these puns are getting worse) and tell us more about the background to the strange Lithuanian genius.

Originally posted by Kez-bah Hubert and Mr Hacienda - in 'Kes' and 'One for my Baby', you both chose books that make me cry...

Kezzie/Kez-Bah/etc

Have you read Parsons other one, Man and Boy ?? IMO a 100% better than One 4 the babi

Originally posted by The Hacienda must be (re)Built > Originally posted by Kez-bah> Hubert and Mr Hacienda - in 'Kes' and 'One for my Baby', you both chose books that make me cry...

Kezzie/Kez-Bah/etc

Have you read Parsons other one, Man and Boy ?? IMO a 100% better than One 4 the babi

Yeah, I read that one ages go. I think I preferred it too - not as downbeat as One for my Baby. The stuff about his granny dying genuinely touched me (though it was this that made me cry due to it being very close to what I went through with my gran not long before), but the rest was just downright maudlin! I felt like shaking that fella (Archie?)most of the time!

Originally posted by Johnny Giles > Originally posted by hibster> > > & e-males by some bloke or other>

who's that then ;)

I've read a book called E by Matt Beaumont, which is just a series of inter-departmental e-mails - very funny !

Originally posted by Easy E > Originally posted by Kez-bah> Ooh goody, a book club!! > > 3-My favourite book of all time is Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kurieshi - >

Excellent choice - I love his stuff !

Good call. Irvine Welsh is wank though...apart from Trainspotting and Acid House. Filth was quite possibly the worst book I've ever read. Just being sick for the sake of it.

Ones I like...Tesserect&Beach by Alex Garland, anything by Louis Bernieres particularly Captain Corelli's, and Gabriel Carcia Marquezs 1000 years....

Originally posted by Seb Briggs > Originally posted by Easy E> > > > Originally posted by Kez-bah> > Ooh goody, a book club!! > > > > 3-My favourite book of all time is Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kurieshi - > > >

Excellent choice - I love his stuff !

Good call. Irvine Welsh is wank though...apart from Trainspotting and Acid House. Filth was quite possibly the worst book I've ever read. Just being sick for the sake of it.

Ones I like...Tesserect&Beach by Alex Garland, anything by Louis Bernieres particularly Captain Corelli's, and Gabriel Carcia Marquezs 1000 years....

Seb, I agree on both counts, Filth is well, Filth or even worst, is Filth minutely digested, ruminated and secreted and then pored over with gusto. Even the cover was awful. 100 years of solitude by Garcia Marquez is one of the best books written in the past century, I do not know how well it translates into English but Garcia Marquez's command of Spanish is awesome, one of these books that are not written but sculpted. Only Borges compares to his mastery of the language.

Originally posted by Seb Briggs > Originally posted by Easy E> > > > Originally posted by Kez-bah> > Ooh goody, a book club!! > > > > 3-My favourite book of all time is Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kurieshi - > > >

Excellent choice - I love his stuff !

Filth was quite possibly the worst book I've ever read. Just being sick for the sake of it.

There were one or two interesting twists in it though, not least the one round Bruce's neck at the end, which was fitting.....

Only Welsh books I've read are Glue and Trainspotting. Never really fancied the others, especially Filth (what's that whole tapeworm sub-plot all about?) - sounds like I made a good choice avoiding it. Glue is a good yarn, but it does get a bit silly at the end and there are some typical Welsh shock tactics, particularly the rude bits

1. Unweaving the Rainbow - Richard Dawkins (Illuminating science fact covering many subjects).

Example, 'isn't it weird A have the same birth date as B' ... Dawkins' reply, 'no, not really, it's a 1 in 26 chance!'. And so on, with certain pages truly gripping.

2. Stalingrad - Antony Beevor (the pivotal moment of WWII, arguably Hitler's second biggest mistake after underestimaing the British Bulldog spirit).

Best read lying on a beach or beside a glorious pool bathed in rays to highlight the tragedy of the soldiers plight and conditions. Never a sadder tale was ever told, and it is true (gulp!). One account highlights a solider who, when sleeping during the night, woke to find a few of his toes had broken off and fallen onto the snow and ice during the night where temperatures dropped around -40 degrees! - some of the soldiers packed their own clothes with straw.

3. Alien Liaison - Timothy Good (quite the most astonishing book I'm ever likely to read).

Quite frankly, some accounts are enough to make your nose bleed, literally). I've read many UFO books, this book leaves the biggest thought provoking question mark ... they could be out there, already. One story (supposedly a true account) in a ranch (mid-way through the book) in the middle of nowhere is utterly mesmerizing.

SKINHEAD , SKINHEAD ESCAPES and SUEDEHEAD...for anyone who remembers these from the 70's.ALL put into ONE volume .RICHARD ALLEN on N.E.L has been republished.CLASSIC :D ENGLAND'S DREAMING Jon Savage...some GREAT LITTLE STORIES! THE UFO EXPERIENCE..A SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY J.Allen Hynek Proof that ROCKET has been here ALREADY!:D IN SEARCH OF THE TROJAN HORSE Michael Wood.....yes it is TRUE! DR Air Wair Martens with Booncing Soles...A brilliant free gift with my NEWEST PURPLE and BLACK FOOTPRINT Pair from a GREAT shop in MANCHESTER.All your favourites wearing the boots ,like a WHOS WHO! Hubert you WOULD love this. HARDBACK EDITION only so not for the beach or the Jobcentre!

I have original, tatty copies of Skinhead, Skinhead Girl and Boot Boys - all originally belonged to my dear old ma when she herself was a Skinhead Girl. She had many more (the whole series, I think) but my fatha did his usual trick of 'borrowing' them (i.e. flogging them to his mates) when they were courting.

These books are dead nasty Mick!

Loved England's Dreaming too - us young un's need our history lessons ;)

Originally posted by Kez-bah I have original, tatty copies of Skinhead, Skinhead Girl and Boot Boys - all originally belonged to my dear old ma when she herself was a Skinhead Girl. She had many more (the whole series, I think) but my fatha did his usual trick of 'borrowing' them (i.e. flogging them to his mates) when they were courting.These books are dead nasty Mick!Loved England's Dreaming too - us young un's need our history lessons ;)

Yes them are GENUINE titles as was SUEDEHEAD and SKINHEAD ESCAPES which together with SKINHEAD is the volume i have. KEZ your originals are COLLECTORS items so place him NOW in a large plastic bag and don't let anyone read them without first washing their hands.Otherwise we will send HUBERT round!:D

Originally posted by ROCKET MICK > Originally posted by Kez-bah> I have original, tatty copies of Skinhead, Skinhead Girl and Boot Boys - all originally belonged to my dear old ma when she herself was a Skinhead Girl. She had many more (the whole series, I think) but my fatha did his usual trick of 'borrowing' them (i.e. flogging them to his mates) when they were courting.> > These books are dead nasty Mick!> > Loved England's Dreaming too - us young un's need our history lessons ;)

Yes them are GENUINE titles as was SUEDEHEAD and SKINHEAD ESCAPES which together with SKINHEAD is the volume i have. KEZ your originals are COLLECTORS items so place him NOW in a large plastic bag and don't let anyone read them without first washing their hands.Otherwise we will send HUBERT round!:D

Don't worry, no one's going near them with mucky hands! My ma would kill me! Besides, they're the only family heirloom I have, besides a 7-inch single of Al Wilson's The Snake, also pilfered from Mrs Akas' collection :D

Originally posted by The Hacienda must be (re)Built > Originally posted by hibster> glitterama by bret easton ellis were two read on last holiday.>

par chance do you mean Glamorama ?? (been on the cider again Hibster ?)

err yes. & no!

Originally posted by Kez-bah > Originally posted by ROCKET MICK> > > > Originally posted by Kez-bah> > I have original, tatty copies of Skinhead, Skinhead Girl and Boot Boys - all originally belonged to my dear old ma when she herself was a Skinhead Girl. She had many more (the whole series, I think) but my fatha did his usual trick of 'borrowing' them (i.e. flogging them to his mates) when they were courting.> > > > These books are dead nasty Mick!> > > > Loved England's Dreaming too - us young un's need our history lessons ;)>

Yes them are GENUINE titles as was SUEDEHEAD and SKINHEAD ESCAPES which together with SKINHEAD is the volume i have. KEZ your originals are COLLECTORS items so place him NOW in a large plastic bag and don't let anyone read them without first washing their hands.Otherwise we will send HUBERT round!:D

Don't worry, no one's going near them with mucky hands! My ma would kill me! Besides, they're the only family heirloom I have, besides a 7-inch single of Al Wilson's The Snake, also pilfered from Mrs Akas' collection :D

And Skinhead Moonstomp - the album

Originally posted by Easy E > Originally posted by Budvar Huber> > > > Originally posted by Easy E> > > > > > > > > > or Thomas Harris's Red Dragon/Silence of the Lambs/Hannibal, > > > > > > > > Don't you find Hannibal a bit of a letdown. I mean, Red Dragon was great and so was The Silence but Hannibal dissapointed me with the reinvention of Lecter as a clavicembalo playing, all things fine expert East European Nobleman whose parciality to human flesh is all too understandable due to sad experiences in his childhood? >

But there had always been allusions to Lecter's tastes (in terms of finery :)) in Silence of the Lambs - Hannibal was the first real chance for Harris to flesh out the character (these puns are getting worse) and tell us more about the background to the strange Lithuanian genius.

i agreed with the first comments - i found haniball to be a real let down after the other two, especially after such a long gap. & the whole thing with clarise at the end was daft.

Originally posted by hibster > Originally posted by Easy E> > > > Originally posted by Budvar Huber> > > > > > > Originally posted by Easy E> > > > > > > > > > > > > > or Thomas Harris's Red Dragon/Silence of the Lambs/Hannibal, > > > > > > > > > > > > Don't you find Hannibal a bit of a letdown. I mean, Red Dragon was great and so was The Silence but Hannibal dissapointed me with the reinvention of Lecter as a clavicembalo playing, all things fine expert East European Nobleman whose parciality to human flesh is all too understandable due to sad experiences in his childhood? > > >

But there had always been allusions to Lecter's tastes (in terms of finery :)) in Silence of the Lambs - Hannibal was the first real chance for Harris to flesh out the character (these puns are getting worse) and tell us more about the background to the strange Lithuanian genius.

i agreed with the first comments - i found haniball to be a real let down after the other two, especially after such a long gap. & the whole thing with clarise at the end was daft.

Indeed, the film's ending was better, more credible too.

Originally posted by ROCKET MICK SKINHEAD , SKINHEAD ESCAPES and SUEDEHEAD...for anyone who remembers these from the 70's.ALL put into ONE volume .RICHARD ALLEN on N.E.L has been republished.CLASSIC :DENGLAND'S DREAMING Jon Savage...some GREAT LITTLE STORIES!THE UFO EXPERIENCE..A SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY J.Allen HynekProof that ROCKET has been here ALREADY!:DIN SEARCH OF THE TROJAN HORSE Michael Wood.....yes it is TRUE!DR Air Wair Martens with Booncing Soles...A brilliant free gift with my NEWEST PURPLE and BLACK FOOTPRINT Pair from a GREAT shop in MANCHESTER.All your favourites wearing the boots ,like a WHOS WHO! Hubert you WOULD love this.HARDBACK EDITION only so not for the beach or the Jobcentre!

Aye Rocky man, of course I do - I have ALL the Richard Allen books needless to say - from when I was just a little kid hanging about with older skinheads in the area....things is, I've read them so many times now, y' knaa? They were just pipped to the post as me fave all time book by "Kes" (I mean, how much does a kid relish swearing legitimately in class in front of yer English teacher?? Answer me that!!! ) simply cos there's so many titles I canna' pick out a single specific one as my favourite! ;)

Originally posted by Kez-bah I have original, tatty copies of Skinhead, Skinhead Girl and Boot Boys - all originally belonged to my dear old ma when she herself was a Skinhead Girl. She had many more (the whole series, I think) but my fatha did his usual trick of 'borrowing' them (i.e. flogging them to his mates) when they were courting.These books are dead nasty Mick!

Yer MA was a "Skinheed Girl" as well??!! That's champion! Fookin' hell - just what is it aboot the North East where almost everyone I know seems to have some sort of bootboy/bootgirl connection? My elder brutha Iain was the first Skinhead in our family - it was he who got me following his crew aal over South Shields an' gettin' into trouble And lest we forget - Charley comes from South Shields! I also got to meet Mensi from Angelic Upstarts there once at a skin/oi!/scooter rally ..Aye... them were happy days indeed....

gotta be REPOSSESSED... JULIAN COPE its fuckin hilarious

Originally posted by HOOKYS WALLET gotta be REPOSSESSED... JULIAN COPE its fuckin hilarious

Haven't seen that one, though I do have Head On, which I also find to be amusing.

Nice picks on 100 Years of Solitude, also one of my faves, along with Crime and Punishment.

Spear of Destiny, by Trevor Ravenscroft, is a wild book to read. It's about the occultic machinations behind Hitler.

Three others I had forgotten about, but found last night living together in a bookcase next to my NO videos, are

My Legendary Girlfriend Mr Commitment Turning Thirty

all by Mike Gayle. All recommended.

What kind of books are they Erick?

Originally posted by Hubert Mickle > Originally posted by Kez-bah> I have original, tatty copies of Skinhead, Skinhead Girl and Boot Boys - all originally belonged to my dear old ma when she herself was a Skinhead Girl. She had many more (the whole series, I think) but my fatha did his usual trick of 'borrowing' them (i.e. flogging them to his mates) when they were courting.> > These books are dead nasty Mick!

Yer MA was a "Skinheed Girl" as well??!! That's champion! Fookin' hell - just what is it aboot the North East where almost everyone I know seems to have some sort of bootboy/bootgirl connection? My elder brutha Iain was the first Skinhead in our family - it was he who got me following his crew aal over South Shields an' gettin' into trouble And lest we forget - Charley comes from South Shields! I also got to meet Mensi from Angelic Upstarts there once at a skin/oi!/scooter rally ..Aye... them were happy days indeed....

Ma&Pa Akas were both Skins in the early 70's when they first met. My ma apparently caused a bit of a stir in her day as one of the first Skinhead girls who followed Sunderland - being from Newcastle, she was a bit ahead of the Makems
She tries to hide the pics of her in this era from me, now that she's a respectable middle-aged lady, but I've hunted them down -she looked a right radge They were well into all the reggae and ska stuff at this time, but by the time I came along they'd moved on to the Northern Soul and Disco stuff. Have you seen that book Spirit of 69, Hubert? It covers the history of Skins, the fashion and the music. I bought it (for ny uni dissertation!)and really set the parents off on a reminisce

Come to think of it, my dad 'borrowed' that book too and I've not seen it since......

Stupid question Al, but is the author co-incidental?

I guess you were keen (for a couple of reasons) on the film 'Trainspotting' and the book 'Ecstasy'? Have you ever seen 'Romper Stomper'? ... I'm starting to think you were in it!

My bird digged his shit, I've always thought them a bit predictable and even a bit boring. She gave me 'Ecstasy' to read and I must say it was even worse than I thought. It could be argued that its release (culminating in the height of youth/drug/look cool and do nothing culture) dented the genre somewhat.

Why couldn't he write a nice book about nice people getting married and eating volute vaunts and mini sausages on sticks?

Read any Kafka? ... quite interesting.

... and Al, I'm only guessing but I imagine you might have just one little tattoo somewhere?

Got to agree with you Al about Mike Gayle. I read My Legendary Girlfriend after getting it free with some ladies magazine and my GOD how annoying was the lead character? I read it in a total state of frustration. Sooo wanted to beat him about the head with a blunt object

He's as bad as the seemingly thousands of 'Chick-Lit' (urgh) writers taking over Waterstones since the Bridget Jones phenomena. Totally unimaginative crap. Only one I make exceptions for is Marian Keyes. At least she makes me laugh.

Like Nick Hornby though. Can't help it - sorry!

Al, do you remember Eilish Hassett ?

Two "literary" connections here......

a mate's ex was namechecked in the first Mike Gayle book, he had been to school with her. Roxanne Bright-Thomas, not the sort of name you can conjure up out of thin air !

Yvonne, one of the central characters in Iain Banks' "Complicity" was modelled entirely on someone I know who is a friend of his.

Funny, my business partner 'Al' is a diabetic so I often witness the injection of his belly, or other section of his anatomy. I'm not a brave person but I can handle the odd needle without bother, I can understand your plight, an old school friend of mine used to faint when a needle was aimed at him. Phobias are odd things ... and rarely echo the persons real character. Given I still think you are a big friendly bear your reticence of needles adds to this image.

Get this Al, I was at the dentist recently and they drilled a hole in a 'bad' tooth (I mean, bad) - in order to 'numb' the tooth i.e. it was so bad I could feel the drilling, they inserted a needle about the size of a house directly onto the nerve. This was after they had punctured the roof of my mouth with a needle which looked like a filler gun you'd use to seal a bath! ... I stayed cool though, perhaps because I'd gone insane.

Kafka though Al, what's it all about? ... Metamorphosis, wasn't that the book where he woke up and was an insect? - metaphors ahoy!

I can understand your wanting to read lighter subjects, heavy books are for those who really want to escape, the older you get, the more you've learnt, the less you are likely to be taken with a books story, to be drawn in by the story. After all, you can see the end coming after page 3.

Well that's my theory and I'm stuck with it.

Originally posted by Huntsman Funny, my business partner 'Al' is a diabetic so I often witness the injection of his belly, or other section of his anatomy. I'm not a brave person but I can handle the odd needle without bother, I can understand your plight, an old school friend of mine used to faint when a needle was aimed at him. Phobias are odd things ... and rarely echo the persons real character. Given I still think you are a big friendly bear your reticence of needles adds to this image.Get this Al, I was at the dentist recently and they drilled a hole in a 'bad' tooth (I mean, bad) - in order to 'numb' the tooth i.e. it was so bad I could feel the drilling, they inserted a needle about the size of a house directly onto the nerve. This was after they had punctured the roof of my mouth with a needle which looked like a filler gun you'd use to seal a bath! ... I stayed cool though, perhaps because I'd gone insane.Kafka though Al, what's it all about? ... Metamorphosis, wasn't that the book where he woke up and was an insect? - metaphors ahoy!I can understand your wanting to read lighter subjects, heavy books are for those who really want to escape, the older you get, the more you've learnt, the less you are likely to be taken with a books story, to be drawn in by the story. After all, you can see the end coming after page 3.Well that's my theory and I'm stuck with it.

Correct HUNTSMAN every thing i read these days i just KNOW that a beautiful girl will get her KIT OFF! SUN READER from CHORLEY :D

Originally posted by Al Jarvis > Originally posted by Easy E> Al, do you remember Eilish Hassett ?

Yes. Couldn't tell the difference between Finsbree / Finchley.

Karen's ex-flatmate. Small world eh ?!

Originally posted by Huntsman Funny, my business partner 'Al' is a diabetic so I often witness the injection of his belly, or other section of his anatomy. I'm not a brave person but I can handle the odd needle without bother, I can understand your plight, an old school friend of mine used to faint when a needle was aimed at him. Phobias are odd things ... and rarely echo the persons real character. Given I still think you are a big friendly bear your reticence of needles adds to this image.Get this Al, I was at the dentist recently and they drilled a hole in a 'bad' tooth (I mean, bad) - in order to 'numb' the tooth i.e. it was so bad I could feel the drilling, they inserted a needle about the size of a house directly onto the nerve. This was after they had punctured the roof of my mouth with a needle which looked like a filler gun you'd use to seal a bath! ... I stayed cool though, perhaps because I'd gone insane.Kafka though Al, what's it all about? ... Metamorphosis, wasn't that the book where he woke up and was an insect? - metaphors ahoy!I can understand your wanting to read lighter subjects, heavy books are for those who really want to escape, the older you get, the more you've learnt, the less you are likely to be taken with a books story, to be drawn in by the story. After all, you can see the end coming after page 3.Well that's my theory and I'm stuck with it.

I think we may have lost Jarvo at this point. Having just been the dentist for a temporary filling, I'm not sure I'm going back after that.

Originally posted by Easy E Two "literary" connections here......a mate's ex was namechecked in the first Mike Gayle book, he had been to school with her. Roxanne Bright-Thomas, not the sort of name you can conjure up out of thin air !Yvonne, one of the central characters in Iain Banks' "Complicity" was modelled entirely on someone I know who is a friend of his.

iain banks is a favourite author, but did prefer the crow road to complicity.

in fact the crow road has to be up there in my top 5.

'Had the same agent'.

Al are you an author?

Have you bought an owl yet?

1. The last book I read was my US history textbook

2. For the holidays, JD Salinger's Nine Stories, Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow, or Mick Middles' From Joy Division to New Order

3. Fave book: alternates between Gravity's (though I'm not sure just what the book's about, it's a great distracting read) and The Great Gatsby. The best music books I've read have been John Densmore's autobiography, Victor Bockris' bio on Lou Reed, Charlie Gillett's The Sound Of The City, Nik Cohn's Rock FRom THe Beginning, and England's Dreaming

Okay Al your starting to sound like an author ... no more semantics.

Have you had a book published, if so, what is it, or what are they?

Don't be shy now!

Originally posted by Al Jarvis Huntsy, have you been on the extra-salted again? We went through this, just this very morn'. Follow the 'Shameless Plug' link further up the page.

I had not realised this IS you....is IT? :D Will check it out if YOU did writr this! Cheers ROCKET MICK

Well Al that is where I started my quest to discover your hidden talents (hidden from me and presumably most of the board here anyway). Apologies, I did think you had found an author with the same name and were cracking a funny, personally I wouldn't do that myself but there you go.

On your link a fella who has consumed your book was eager to discover the endings true meaning (as seen on your Amazon link page) ... I do hope you get back to him and explain that 'no, it was the girl who chopped the ostrich in half'.

I am happy that it is you (as opposed to 'A Nother Al Jarvo') in a 'what a shocker' kind of way and, 'blimey! ... the boy done just swell'. It takes a lot of time and energy to write a book and even more to have it released. Superb. The accountant we use also released a novel a couple of years back, a sinister murder type affair with many twist and turns and possibly a moderate smattering of fine cheeses. The 'rub' with this book is that its set in Teesside (hooray!) ... which helped him greatly (surprisingly enough) to have it released i.e. the last commercial book released, located in and around 'Teesside was 'Crows in my Cow Shed' by Barry Bethel Jr. IIIrd. Anyway, greatest respect must be extended to you as seeing my accountant go bonkers for 3 years I can understand the level of commitment. (A bit like attempting 4 tubes in two hours of the good stuff, only managed this once ... so far).

Care to give a quick synopsis on the book? ... of course, I will no buy this book and recommend to others bringing you up to 1.5 million sales by close of play next Tuesday.

(can this website throw up any more surprises? ... is Mick Rock really a warlock?)

Originally posted by Al Jarvis > Originally posted by hibster> > > > Originally posted by Easy E> > Two "literary" connections here......> > > > a mate's ex was namechecked in the first Mike Gayle book, he had been to school with her. Roxanne Bright-Thomas, not the sort of name you can conjure up out of thin air !> > > > Yvonne, one of the central characters in Iain Banks' "Complicity" was modelled entirely on someone I know who is a friend of his.>

iain banks is a favourite author, but did prefer the crow road to complicity.

in fact the crow road has to be up there in my top 5.

Ooh, I've actually met Iain Banks. Had the same agent. Nice bloke. Personally don't think he can ever better the Wasp Factory though. A modern classic, IMO.

......and just to spoil it if you've not read it, its a bird (a la The Crying Game)

for a light read, i suggest a quantum physics textbook. makes it look like you're a brainy responsible guy.

Originally posted by Kez-bah Ma&Pa Akas were both Skins in the early 70's when they first met. My ma apparently caused a bit of a stir in her day as one of the first Skinhead girls who followed Sunderland - being from Newcastle, she was a bit ahead of the Makems She tries to hide the pics of her in this era from me, now that she's a respectable middle-aged lady, but I've hunted them down -she looked a right radge They were well into all the reggae and ska stuff at this time, but by the time I came along they'd moved on to the Northern Soul and Disco stuff.Have you seen that book Spirit of 69, Hubert? It covers the history of Skins, the fashion and the music. I bought it (for ny uni dissertation!)and really set the parents off on a reminisce Come to think of it, my dad 'borrowed' that book too and I've not seen it since......

Aye, Kez-pet ... ...I have all them books - and pretty well-thumbed they are too! ;), "Spirit of 69" and "Skinhead Nation" by George Marshall (The Scottish author of loads of Skinhead titles - I met the guy at a Scooterist / Trojan / Ska festival in Bridlington once - he's a really nice bloke an' all, dead down to earth! :) ) "Loud, Proud n Punk - The Business" by Garry Fielding, "Skins" by Gavin Watson and "Skinhead" by Nick Knight to name but a few others.... Me an' Charley did so many Scooter rallys up until the last few years (when we had Amy) that I've lost count of all the great things we've picked up from various places - just goin' round all the stalls lookin' for stuff we haven't seen before....

"Congratulations You've Just Met The I.C.F" - Cass Pennant One sided West Ham Bollox

"No-one Here Gets Out Alive" - Danny Sugarman Excellent all rounder, full of ups & downs

"The Choirboys" - Joseph Wambaugh Aint read nothing like it before or since, the film fucked right up' Read it ASAP.

Originally posted by The Hacienda must be (re)Built > Originally posted by Al Jarvis > Originally posted by hibster> > > > Originally posted by Easy E> > Two "literary" connections here......> > > > a mate's ex was namechecked in the first Mike Gayle book, he had been to school with her. Roxanne Bright-Thomas, not the sort of name you can conjure up out of thin air !> > > > Yvonne, one of the central characters in Iain Banks' "Complicity" was modelled entirely on someone I know who is a friend of his.>

iain banks is a favourite author, but did prefer the crow road to complicity.

in fact the crow road has to be up there in my top 5.

Ooh, I've actually met Iain Banks. Had the same agent. Nice bloke. Personally don't think he can ever better the Wasp Factory though. A modern classic, IMO.

......and just to spoil it if you've not read it, its a bird (a la The Crying Game)

when i met iain banks got him to sign my copy of the wasp factory "to frank, keep taking the tablets" got a little chuckle from mr banks did that.

Originally posted by Al Jarvis Not sure about the commitment angle, I just wrote about what I knew about. Which is, er, New Order, clubs, pubs, London, etc. I even ripped off Jonathan Scott's infamous Paradise article about following the Order round the US, before I'd even met the great man himself. Er, but that's not a stab at a selling point. The book is just about a bloke who happens to have a hankering for the Order and they only get a one-liner every 20 pages or so. You know the kind of thing: setting the scene by describing what's on the stereo, etc. The protoganist does argue about set-lists with his brother all the time, and Hooky said this reminded him of his mate Ken (who I know some people here might've heard of) who always remembers so much more about the band than Hooky does himself.But then I penned a second book which I really worked hard at, did research and everything, and it was deemed a little 'dark' after e-males and the 3rd book I'd started was thought to be a better 'second novel' to release, with Book 2 possibly being allowed to see the light of day after that one. And, er, I've not lifted a pen to Book 3 (or is that Book 2 now?) in nigh on 2 years. Like I said, I'm lazy. Fun goes out of it when it becomes a chore.e-males is worth a look just to see a piccie of me taken in just March 99 but weighin' an incredible THREE STONE lighter!

even though i knew you had written it i didnt recognise you from the picture. thomas pink tie was it? threw all mine away ;)

1. Currently reading Post Office by Charles Bukowski. Thoroughly enjoying it.

2. Selected poems by T.S Eliot. I'll need to go over that one.

3. Resurrection Man by Eoin McNamee. Never read a book with such a writing style in my life.

Reviews.

reading spy story, on the road, kassandra , by christ wolf, recently finished brave new world. and i hear an ideal for living is supposed to be quite good.

I just finished and really liked My Life as a Dog by Reidar Jonsson

Thinking about re-reading Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation, I recommend it for anyone looking for a sly twisted look at American history

Can recommend Shadow of the Wind and The Historian - read these over Christmas. Best book ever- like music tracks this frequently changes - but possibly Great Gatsby or Far from the Madding Crowd

1. I read "The DaVinci Code" recently, now reading "Nochnoi Dozor (spell?)" by Sergej Lukianenko (this russian fantasy bestseller, which was made a film)
2. I don't know what you like to read in holidays. I'm a suspense-horror-guy, so I can truly recommend some of Jeffrey Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme novels.
3. I love books by Preston & Child. I think I love "Still life with crows" the most, and there are some great novels by Stephen King e.g. "Shining" (is a better book than movie).

anyone who hasn't read to kill a mockingbird by harper lee needs to do so immediately. it's been my favourite book since i was 10 years old and atticus finch has been my hero since then, as well. so much so that when gregory peck died i wept because he was atticus finch.

also: life of pi by yann martel--a unique and enjoyable existentialist novel.

a prayer for owen meany by john irving--funny and absorbing; small-town life, mind-expanding.

either one hundred years of solitude or love in the time of cholera (or both) by gabriel garcia marquez. the man's a fucking genius.

anything by the god of the written word, kurt vonnegut.

the best true-crime novels: in cold blood by truman capote (with much help from his friend, harper lee!).

a wonderful and horrifying true story, written by the father of a lovely senior girl who helped me get through my freshman year of high school relatively unscathed: the executioner's song by norman mailer.

others:

middlesex by jeffrey eugenides--growing up as an androgynous greek-american (!).

why they kill by richard rhodes--a look at criminologist lonnie athens and his study of violent offenders. sounds dry, but isn't.