The GOT Book Club


I've got to the stage where I need a book that makes me laugh. I can't remember laughing out loud at a book since Lucky Jim, which I've read nearly every year since the sixties. Any recommendations?
 
Decided to finally start putting books I have read onto my goodreads account, and as of time of posting I still have hundreds to put on there. As I was putting them on my 'read shelf' I gave them all a 3 star rating as a base, really crap books got a one, stuff I would read again I gave 5 stars (with a smattering of 2's & 4's for nearly crap or nearly great)

Anyways having rated some Sci-Fi (Old Mans War, Foundation, On Basilisk Station etc) I was recommended to have a go at this by goodreads....

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Must say that I thought it was a cracking read and am well impressed with the recommendation, if you haven't already you should load up a bookshelf on there and rate the books you like, wish I had done it years ago now.

If you are into Sci-Fi then this one is well worth checking out, part one of a series so looking forward to reading some more
 
I've got to the stage where I need a book that makes me laugh. I can't remember laughing out loud at a book since Lucky Jim, which I've read nearly every year since the sixties. Any recommendations?

Donald E Westlake books:

Help I am being held prisoner
A New York Dance (AKA Dancing Aztecs)
Somebody owes me money
The Fugitive Pigeon
The Busy Body

Spring instantly to mind

There are loads more that he wrote, Goodreads page here: Donald E Westlake

(And the Dortmunder series of books that he wrote are also very funny if you manage to get any of those)
 
Donald E Westlake books:

Help I am being held prisoner
A New York Dance (AKA Dancing Aztecs)
Somebody owes me money
The Fugitive Pigeon
The Busy Body

Spring instantly to mind

There are loads more that he wrote, Goodreads page here: Donald E Westlake

(And the Dortmunder series of books that he wrote are also very funny if you manage to get any of those)
OK thanks. I think I tried Westlake about fifty years ago but I'll have a go. The thing is I have found writers like Keith Waterhouse and Magnus Mills amusing and one-offs such as Diary of a Nobody is very funny, so it hasn't been a completely barren desert. Even Jane Austen can be ironically funny.
 

Gone through the next three books in the Starship's Mage series, averaging a book a day.

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As usual the 2nd book in a series doesn't come up to the high standards of a very good first book, and unfortunately although not horrible and easy reads, both the 2nd and 3rd books in the series follow a similar path.

However things take a turn in the 4th book and the story gets very interesting indeed.
The story swerves away from the military sci-fi of the previous books (although still plenty of action) and introduces a political aspect to the storyline

Keeping me interested and want to see what happens so 5th book just started
 
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Revisiting some of my old favourites:

GB84 by David Peace.

Dirty deeds by both sides during the Miners Strike.

Reads more like a crime novel, than a political novel.

Wonderfully written as always by Peace and he takes no sides.

Gritty, dark and pulls no puncheson the wrongs done by both sides.
 
Revisiting some of my old favourites:

GB84 by David Peace.

Dirty deeds by both sides during the Miners Strike.

Reads more like a crime novel, than a political novel.

Wonderfully written as always by Peace and he takes no sides.

Thanks for the heads up on this, will check it out.

The Damned United was a superb read, but after reading Red or Dead I gave up on him (it wasn't the subject matter, it was just a crap book)
 
Thanks for the heads up on this, will check it out.

The Damned United was a superb read, but after reading Red or Dead I gave up on him (it wasn't the subject matter, it was just a crap book)

His best books by far are the Red Riding Quartet.

The Yorkshire Ripper, corrupt council officials and police and ritual paedophilia in West Yorks.

Not for the faint hearted, but stunning books.
 

His best books by far are the Red Riding Quartet.

The Yorkshire Ripper, corrupt council officials and police and ritual paedophilia in West Yorks.

Not for the faint hearted, but stunning books.

Cheers for this, as you have recommended I decided to get them, once I have had a read I will let you know what I thought of the books.

;)
 
Cheers for this, as you have recommended I decided to get them, once I have had a read I will let you know what I thought of the books.
;)

You really have to be ready to read the Red Riding books - you have been warned !

They did a very good job with the tv adaptation of them too ( C4 ) and they’re probably the best thing Sean Bean has ever done too ( plays a bent councillor, with a taste for young girls )
 
I can get these

Red Riding 1974
Red Riding 1980
Red Riding 1983

(imdb links)

Will read the books first though before I watch them, I always try to do things that way round if I can.

Deffo read the books first mate, as they condensed the 4 books into three for the tv series, so the tv series skates over some of the content of the books and loses some of the impact.

If I remember rightly they toned down the paedophilia for the tv series
 
I've got to the stage where I need a book that makes me laugh. I can't remember laughing out loud at a book since Lucky Jim, which I've read nearly every year since the sixties. Any recommendations?
A football book too. 'The Far Corner' author Harry Pearson.
Some good laughs. It's about football in the North East and includes games from the pro leagues but also some local leagues. The style (generally) is going to the game, the game, getting home after the game. The first couple of chapters take some time to get going but from then on, very funny. I have had the book for several years and still pick it up and have a read of an isolated chapter. Each chapter is a separate story.
 

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