timebug

The HItchHikers Guide to The Galaxy series, by Douglas Adams, was great. I love the radio version,adore the books;the TV version was okay for what it was, on a limited budget. Hated the film,and gave up on the Eoin Colfe one, as it was puerile gibberish. He may be a 'fan' of the originals, but he can't write them like Douglas Adams could (In fact, no one could!) The Dirk Gently books are superb, different to the HHGTTG series, but with the same 'hand on the tiller' as it were, you know you are in good hands! Sadly missed, a giant of a man (physically) and intellectually too, for the type of humour that his works engendered!

His series include the 'Gregory Sallust set,as I mentioned,which cover the main events of World War 2,and the 'Roger Brook' series,which are excellent,and Brook is a 'secret agent' working for Prime Minister Pitt, against the Revolutionary French, and later, Napoleon . The 'Duc De Richleau' books cover spy/thriller stuff,and include three of the black magic series.As I wrote, his views are right wing and he was definitely a 'man of his class,and age' which means he comes over as sexist,misoginistic,arrogant and almost a fascist in many of his views.But as I also said, IF you can get past all that rubbish, he also crafts a well put together yarn, most of the time! Worth checking out for his stories,but not a nice chap by any standards that we would use now!

I have posted elsewhere on this board,about the 'Roger Brook' series of historical adventures by Dennis Wheatley. He was a very right wing writer, and his books reflected this. So to modern readers, many of his characters come across as politically incorrect dinosaurs. All well and good.But behind that stuff, if you can ignore it, lie some very well crafted novels.I also enjoyed the 'Gregory Sallust' series, set during WW2 as Sallust manages to insert himself into virtually every major event of that conflict as Churchill's 'top agent'! I have just re-reread a favourite of his, 'They Found Atlantis'. A group of idle rich playboys and girls, find themselves backing a marine trip to find the lost continent of Atlantis. Bad people plot to steal a fortune from the group, by devious underhand plotting, and all is set well for that as being the 'main' plot of the novel.But no, following all that, the group actually find Atlantis after being stranded on the sea bed at a depth of over a mile! The Atlaneans are basically a group of sixties hippies,advocating peace and love, but there lies a steely determination behind the hippy-dippy facade, to keep their race and land 'clean'. Not very fascist that, then? But there IS a resolution to the various entanglements,and the people you care about most, survive the book intact! Always liked it when I was a teen, and still do as I approach seventy! Unfortunately, I followed this with one I had never read before, another sea going yarn called 'Uncharted Seas'. And for the first time ever, I got to almost halfway through, before abandoning it completely. Utter drivel. A very weak plot, peopled with way over the top characters,that after a few chapters, you find you could not care less about, or indeed,the circumstances they find that they are in. I rarely give up on a book, probably only done this about a dozen times (in a life of reading well over ten thousand books) so this one (I.M.O) has to be a REAL stinker. I still advise checking out Wheatley, if you have never done so, as a writer of (mainly) good tales. But avoid that one at all costs!

The Watcher by Charles MacLean. First published 1982 in USA, 1983 in UK. Recently republished, and every bit as good as it was back then!

Try 'The Watcher' by Charles MacLean. The cover blurb describes it as 'horror' but whilst it contains many horrible incidents, it is so much more than a 'horror story'. Recently republished,I first read it in 1983 when it came out in the U.K. and am finding it every bit as engrossing and entertaining now,as I did back then!

A subject I have discussed with friends,many times! I have a collection of 'Real Books', numbering around two thousand;it used to be greater but I had to ruthlessly thin it out a few years back, for space reasons! And I have my ereader, which makes carrying around a full series of works by an author, so simple! Also the number of free ebooks online, that have passed the copyright restrictions, is amazing. I am currently using ebook versions of classics, to fill gaps in my 'self education' of the books that I SHOULD have read before, but never got around to. And still loving the look and feel of a 'real' book, when I get one, which is something that if you experience it, will never leave you! So, the best of both worlds, if you pace yourself and do not get tangled up in pointless regrets or dislike of one format or the other. I just love reading, always have and always will. The format is irrelevant to me, so long as I enjoy the book I am reading!

Just finished the first 24 ebook versions of Alan Hunters series of George Gently novels. I loved them. Easy paced cerebral stories, along the lines of Holmes or Morse, rather than a 'cop book' with all that modern policing stories entail. Starting in, I believe 1955 Hunter wrote on average, one per year. The stories themselves seem to be set a couple of years before the publication date, so the first one (Pub 1955) seems to occupy a period in the earlier fifties, around 1952 at a guess. No sidekick named Bacchus, no car chases, gunfights, or explicit violence/sex/excess in general! I eagerly await the release of the remaining 22 books in epub format. Wonderful, old fashioned stuff (but NOT old and creaky, let me add!) for a Gentle reading experience (Pun half intended, maybe!)

I read the Godfather when it came out and loved it.Have re-read it a few times over the years since,and it still packs a punch.

Greetings! Pull up a chair, grab a book and enjoy!

Divisive among many readers,but I first read 'The Lord Of The Rings' over forty years ago; I still feel somehow cheated and hollow, when I re-read it (an annual event) and have to leave my friends in the Shire behind once more!

I just finished the 14th book in the George Gently series, 'Gently North-West'. I am loving these books, and am intending to read the first 24 volumes (which is what I curently have!) continuously. There are a further 22 to collect,as and when they become available in ebook format. I watched two episodes on the TV and have to warn you that the Gently of the BOOKS is NOT the same man as the character on the written page. Not set in the north for a start,no assistant named Bacchus,and no action chases,fights etc.More cerebral,along the lines of the Maigret books,for those familiar with them.

I average two to three books a week,depending on what I am reading and how many I have available at the time! Short books I can easily read three a week,sometimes four. Longer, 'heavier' books,maybe down to two. I just love reading!

Rebuff

I have no idea,but based on your brief precis, it sounds very similar to one of the W.J.Burley 'Wycliffe' novels. I only ever read about three of them,and folklore and so forth seemed to be the subject of two of them! Maybe worth checking out the plot synopses of them online.

I believe it was in the 1960s (but my memory may be letting me down a bit here!) He he gave an interview in one of the heavier sunday papers,and the interviewer came away with the feeling that he was not a very nice man! I read all his thrillers as they came along,at the time,and never wondered about the personality of the author! If I like a book, I will read it and let the side issues take second place!

Languish

I know what you mean,but I managed to avoid the TV series during my reading of the majority of the books.Then the TV series ended and the books kept coming! So it was an easy choice ,for me,and I prefer and will stick with,the books!

I loved 'Sarum' as we had recently holidayed in the area when I read it! 'London' was a good read too, but I was let down by 'Russka' and 'Dublin' (was it called 'Dublin'?)

'The Stand' was the first Stephen King book I ever read,and has a special place for me. I liked the majority of his stuff,and have read (as far as I know) all of it to date. 'The Tommyknockers' was a good fun romp too,and I have fond memories of 'The Dead Zone'!

I read 'Jamaica Inn' first when I was about fourteen.I loved it. I re-read it when I was around thirty and spotted lots of little details that had escaped me as a teenager,and I still loved it! I believe (although this may be an urban myth) from something I read back then, that the writer Alistair McLean owned the place for several years? Anyone know anything about that?

Thanks for the welcomes! What sort of books do I enjoy, is sort of like 'what kind of music do you like?'. I read all sorts of stuff,I love police procedural stories,fact or fiction.Good biographies/autobiographies.True life adventure or exploration type books. Pretty much anything that takes my fancy! I discovered a long time ago, that I don't claim to go with a specific genre,as the odd thing suggested by a friend,often either knocks me for a six, or leaves me cold! If I like the look of it, or like the author, I will give it a go. I am quite a voracious reader (always have been) and will tackle most things. I just need to have a flick through,read the cover blurbs (which are often nothing more than publishers 'plugs' anyway!) and decide. I have about a 95% hit rate,for those I like,as opposed to the occasional clunker that I try out!

I read the first one and it failed to impress me.My wife however,loved it and went on to read the rest of the series. I wanted to like it, but something just did not work for me,and I abandoned them.May try again another day!

I eventually saw the film when I was in my late forties,having avoided it for the previous years; then I tried the book. The film I managed to get through, and found parts of it really good. The book,on the other hand, i simply could not get into. Life being too short,and there being many other good books out there, I just moved on.

Any members familiar with the rogue antique dealer,other than via the diluted TV adventures? I am a huge fan of the original books, and have read them many times. In publication order they are: Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 01 - The Judas Pair Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 02 - Gold From Gemini Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 03 - The Grail Tree Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 04 - Spend Game Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 05 - The Vatican Rip Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 06 - Firefly Gadroon Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 07 - The Sleepers of Erin Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 08 - The Gondola Scam Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 09 - Pearlhanger Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 10 - The Tartan Ringers Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 11 - Moonspender Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 12 - Jade Woman Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 13 - The Very Last Gambado Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 14 - The Great California Game Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 15 - The Lies of Fair Ladies Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 16 - Paid and Loving Eyes Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 17 - The Sin Within Her Smile Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 18 - The Grace in Older Women Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 19 - The Possessions of a Lady Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 20 - The Rich and the Profane Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 21 - A Rag, a Bone and a Hank of Hair Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 22 - Every Last Cent Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 23 - Ten Word Game Jonathan Gash - Lovejoy 24 - Faces in the Pool I first read one after the TV show had been running for a while. I suppose I expected them to be just like the TV version, and I was certainly wrong! Ian McShane who played Lovejoy, in an early interview on TV, had explained that the character had had to be sanitised for general sunday night viewing. Certainly true. In the books, Lovejoy is a ''divvy' he can sense if an antique is genuine,merely by being near to it. He is also a conman, a thief, a forger,and (due to circimstance, per novel) a killer. A womaniser without moral scruple, and not above the act of violence towards the female of the species either. Not at all the cleaned up ,loveable rogue of the TV series. The books are all narrated in the first person, by Lovejoy, and the voice of the story teller is at once captivating,by the turns of phrase used,and impressive by the great depth and love of the antiques he deals with, craves,often steals (Borrows,as he generally puts it) and becomes embroiled with. Tinker Dill exists in most of the stories, but not the dandy gent who likes a tipple as shown onscreen.No, this old reprobate is a fully fledged alcoholic, given to sleeping in church porches and bus shelters. We learn,as readers,that the younger Lovejoy was 'discovered' by the then middle aged Tinker,and taught to use his gift of divination, to 'divvy' antiques and make a living. Lady Jane Felsham is sort of in the books; except that she is plain 'Jane Felsham' (No title) and is a rival dealer in two or three of the novels. Eric Catchpole does not exist in book form.There IS a biker,who is amiable,gormless and slow on the uptake, in some of the earlier books. His name is Algernon! Lovejoy goes from being penniless and down and out (often!) to being quite well set up and comfortable,then back again. If you like a good crime based tale, with lashings of black humour thrown in,and a great deal of background on antiques, give the books a try. My only caveat would be,that if you love the TV series, after the books, you may find it hard to get back into viewing the former! Especially after meeting a young lady,who starts life as Lovejoy's apprentice,and goes on to altogether greater heights!

I read the 'new' one and was not surprised to find that I did not actually care for it much. The Girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz tries to bring in as many of the known characters as possible, and introduces one new 'main' character, with very little sucess in my opinion. It is a standard 'paint by numbers' sort of thriller, that the BBC Drama department are so good at. You keep reading, it seems to hold your attention,and you come away at the end feeling short changed. A big nothing,especially after the original trilogy. If there are more to come, having read this one, I will be avoiding future books in this 'collection'.