Kell Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Has anyone else read any of Brookmyre's stuff? He's a Scottish writer & his books are predominently set in Scotland (mostly in Glasgow) but they're not your usual twee Jock-speak countryside stuff. Nope, you get hard, fast-paced action, crime sprees & a liberal dose of his comedic flair. I'm lucky enough to have all his books on my shelf & they are regularly re-read. I even have a couple of them signed (due to the thoughtfulness of my lovely hubby who tends to get them done for my birthday & Xmas prezzies). Just wondered if anyone else here is a fan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 I'm a fan. He is very good. His books have the best titles. My favourite one is ' a big boy did it and ran away'. I'm sure many a Scots kid can remember telling that little fib to their parents at some time or another. It is hard to decsribe his stories though. They are funny, but also quite serious. People do get killed. You really all should get hold of one of his books and give him a try - expecially if you are a fan of Carl Hiaasen - the american Brookmyre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted January 13, 2006 Author Share Posted January 13, 2006 Oh, I'm a huge fan - I've got all Brookmyre's books, mostly in hardback & some of them autographed (he used to live here in Aberdeen). Nice to see a fellow fan here! I think my fave to date is The Sacred Art of Stealing - an absolute work of art in itself. Which is your fave? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Actually Sacred Art of Stealing was the first one f his books I read. A chap I know kept banging on about him so I decided to read on of his books and I borrowed SAOS. And then I was hooked. I've been hunting down his books one by one since. I've got three to go - all ready on the bookshelf - just gotta finish Insomnia by Stephen King first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted January 16, 2006 Author Share Posted January 16, 2006 The 1st one I read was Not the End of the World. After that, I worked my way through all the others in the order they were published & I can't get enough of them! Can hardly wait for the next one. I'm really hoping there'll be one out later this year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 As always - is there a good book to start with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted February 4, 2006 Author Share Posted February 4, 2006 If you want to read the stories featuring Jack Parlabane, you should read them in this order: Quite ugly One Morning Country of the Blind Boiling a Frog Be My Enemy The others are all on-offs, but a couple of them feature recurring characters, so you should probably read them in this order: Not the End of the World On Fine Day in the Middle of the Night A Big Boy Did it & Ran Away The Sacred Art of Stealing All Fun & Games Until Somebody Loses an Eye They're all excellent, but my absolute favourite to date has been the Sacred Art of Stealing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tash Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 ' a big boy did it and ran away'. I'm sure many a Scots kid can remember telling that little fib to their parents at some time or another. I think you'll find that the Scots kids didn't have the monopoly on this excuse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inanna Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 I think my fave to date is The Sacred Art of Stealing - an absolute work of art in itself. Am trying to get this book as its the one that looked most appealing to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toshmeister Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 Currently reading TSAOS and its brilliant,my other faves have to be Boiling A Frog and A Tale Etched.....,only have two to go after this read,I sure hope he writes some more soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted February 23, 2008 Author Share Posted February 23, 2008 The Sacred Art of Stealing remains my favourite to date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princessponti Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Ha!!! So cool to stumble on this thread! ... I read Quite Ugly One Morning a couple of years ago and loved it! I don't know why though, I'd never thought of looking to see if the author had written anything else, I guess it felt quite stand alone to me. Then yesterday I popped into an Oxfam bookshop and found two books with similar covers to Quite Ugly and realised they were by the same guy! So I bought them, for 59p each I might add!! (Dalston Oxfam is a great find!). On my way home I started reading the Sacred art of stealing and am really enjoying it; the other book I picked up was 'all fun and games until somebody loses an eye'. I was trying to describe his work to a friend last night and I couldn't bring myself to recommend them; not because I don't think he is great (I loved Quite Ugly), but because a lot of the content is quite disturbingly gruesome - it's such dark comedy I imagine it isn't for everyone. I'm so pleased you love him Kell, it makes me feel better about enjoying him - if that makes sense! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esiotrot Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Oooh - Have added these to my must read list, sounds like my kind of book. KxXx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted February 25, 2008 Author Share Posted February 25, 2008 You guys might be interested in the article I wrote about Christopher Brookmyre's books HERE. It gives some idea of a good order to read them as some are sequential, whereas others are stand-alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Must add Christopher Brookmyre to my list he sounds really good, read your article Kell and I like to find new [to me] Scottish authors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Butter Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 I have one of Brookmyre's books hanging around somewhere - I think it's The Sacred Art of Stealing, but I'm too lazy to go and check! Must get round to reading it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esiotrot Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I have been trying to read Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks for the last few nights but have had to admit defeat. Persevered to page 185 but its just not going in - I am skimming rather than reading so have decided to pause it for now. I picked this book up in the library - the subject matter (psychics/ spiritualists) isn't one I am interested in but I really wanted to try Brookmyre. Part of the problem was the fact the book was large print, which for some reason I found really off putting. After researching some reviews I will definitely try another of Brookmyres books as this doesnt seem to be his usual style or one of his best books. Would be interested to hear any other opinions. I am so disappointed I havent finished it - hate giving up on a book! Kx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted March 19, 2008 Author Share Posted March 19, 2008 Try starting at the beginning or reading one of the stand-alones - his style can take a little getting used to (unless you're already into that kind of style) but I've not read a bad one yet. I've not yet started Rubber Ducks although I have it very near the top of Mount TBR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I've only ever read his first book, when it was published years ago. The only thing I remember about it was the turd on the mantelpiece. What that says about his writing I don't know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princessponti Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 The turd on the mantelpiece was hard to forget - it's one of the reasons why I find him difficult to recommend to other people!! - I've just finished the Sacred Art of Stealing and it was fantastic; in my eyes a perfect novel. I was completely amazed at the way it unfolded, so intelligent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted March 19, 2008 Author Share Posted March 19, 2008 The Sacred Art of Stealing is my favourite to date, but although it's technically a stand-alone, Angelique first appeared in A Big Boy Did it and Ran Away which is also brilliant and worth a read if you haven't already given it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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