Best Books

Ah...would they be the Lydmouth series or something like that? I'll try them....but at the moment I have about a 6 month backlog of unread, brand new books piled up in my flat!!!! :unsure: :D
 
Yes, the Lydmouth series is the one. I'd recommend you read them in order when you get round to it.
I think 'An Air That Kills' is the first one.
 
Think it was James who mentioned No 1 Ladies Detective Agency, which I'd bought, started and sort of left...

I then listened to a little of the afternoon play on R4 on Friday, a dramatisation of this and got hooked - finished the first book and am now looking forward to reading the rest of the series - hope they are as good!

He has a very dreamy rythym to the way he writes and you feel yourself in Botswana, somehow!
 
Originally posted by BrianH@Aug 4 2004, 11:51 PM
Or -

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Click to expand...
Just a pity that Dan Brown is, at best, a fairly mediocre writer, and that the book has several inconsistencies (with fact) which spoil the illusion of fact which he tries so hard to create. Still a nice enough waste of a few hours, but certainly no more than that.
 
I bought four of Alexander McCall Smith's books about Mma Ramotswe and her Botswanan detective agency. They're easy reading, except he has a literary tic which his editor should've rooted out: every bleedin' reference to her transportation is her 'little white van'. Those three words now shine like neon lights on every ninth or tenth page, which is way too often. I KNOW she drives a little white van, I haven't got Attention Deficit Disorder, and I don't want to be reminded every few minutes, Mr Smith!! (As bad as 'The Remains of the Day' when the word 'crucial' appeared, literally, on EVERY SECOND PAGE.) Good editing seems to be a thing of the past. Otherwise, they're pleasant reading with a few insights into what is still, thankfully, one of the quieter backwaters of a turbulent continent.
 
I'm reading the third of the Alexander trilogy by Mary Renault, Funeral Games, & I have to say that all three are very good. I would go so far as to say they are better than Alessandro Manfredi's trilogy about Alexander, too. When Steven Pressfield's book comes out in paperback I'll test drive that one too!
 
I'm halfway through Angels & Demons by Dan Brown having just finished Tha Da Vinci Code which I enjoyed a lot more than this one. I was interested to see today that Dan Brown is actually being sued for plagiarism for Da Vinci Code by the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail, a factual book published in the early 80's on the same subject, from which all the theories & names in Da Vinci Code appear to be taken. Funny that the authors are so pissed off about it though, seeing as how Da Vinci Code has reopened a load of interest in that particular subject; so much so that 2 new editions of Holy Blood, Holy Grail have been re-published in 2004 for the first time in 21 years..... :brows:

Times Article About The Da Vinci Code
 
I read The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail when it was published and was surprised that Dan Brown didn't acknowledge the work of its authors.

Shadow Leader will probably be sued by the Daily Telegraph for her attribution of their article to the Times :lol:
 
Good point Brian, but I suppose he saw it as taking an historical theory & creating a novel around it - they weren't the only people to come up with the theory although he did follow their reasons to the letter. Interesting too that his Sir Leigh Teabing is an anagram of 2 of the authors, Leigh & Baigent & that the character appears to be based in the third author in that he uses crutches! As I said before, it seems a case of jealousy to me considering that their book has also undergone a revival & sold so many copies recently it has had to be re-printed twice!
 
I have not read either tome but if it is plagiarised academics will not be happy about someone making an arm and a leg out of their research even if their own royalties rise a bit
 
I can recommend very strongly Jon Snow's memoirs Shooting History. It will make a great Christmas present for those people for whom it is so difficult to choose. As well as offering a fresh insight into what was making the news in the latter part of the twentieth century, the book is amusing and entertaining. I have to declare an interest as my son's wife was Jon's researcher for the book.
 
I often used to see Jon Snow when I lived in Kentish Town-I have never seen a man buy so many newspapers in one go and not a Racing Post in sight.
 
Just finished Dan Brown's Angels & Demons; it got better but the end in particular was very far-fetched and got a bit silly! Now I'm not sure what to start next; I have a backlog of unread books! So far I've got it down to one of - The Death Of Kings by Clifford Brewer, Secret Smile by Nicci French, Elizabeth & Mary by Jane Dunn, England's Lost Queen, Lady Arbella Stuart by Sarah Gristwood or Out by Natsuo Kirino. :wacko: :blink:
 
Where do you guys get the time to read?

I reckon the last book I read was Le Père Goriot...
 
Read The Curious Indicent of the dog in the nighttime this week. Sweet touching book, as many have said on here already..
 
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