Brian.

Started The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo. Been looking forward to reading this for a while now.

Ronnie only ever really loses to himself, if he had the mental discipline of some of the other players he would be unbeatable. That's what makes him such a fan favourite though, he is great to watch, I bet the powers that be wish the O'Sullivan - Robertson game was the final. They all make it look so easy, I plays most weeks and still am really quite poor at the game. I still really enjoy playing but it can get so frustrating missing easy shots far too often.

Of course its okay, pop back as often as you want. Ive managed to pick up an old tattered copy of Moonraker but I really want to read them in the correct order. I need to find a copy of Live and Let Die, I'm hoping my local library has it.

Emiliana Torrini and Iron Maiden, quite a contrast

Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk Synopsis From the master of literary mayhem and provocation, a full-frontal Triple X novel that goes where no American work of fiction has gone before Cassie Wright, porn priestess, intends to cap her legendary career by breaking the world record for serial fornication. On camera. With six hundred men. Snuff unfolds from the perspectives of Mr. 72, Mr. 137, and Mr. 600, who await their turn on camera in a very crowded green room. This wild, lethally funny, and thoroughly researched novel brings the huge yet under acknowledged presence of pornography in contemporary life into the realm of literary fiction at last. Who else but Chuck Palahniuk would dare do such a thing? Who else could do it so well, so unflinchingly, and with such an incendiary (you might say) climax? (Taken from Goodreads) My Thoughts After enjoying Fight Club so much I bought 3 Palahniuk titles as a discounted package from Amazon. I kind of knew what Snuff was about although I hadn't read the synopsis. I don't think I would have bought it on its own but I really wanted Invisible Monsters and Haunted and decided to kill 2 (or 3) birds with one stone. I have to say outright that this was unlike any book I have read previously, in no small part thanks to its setting. A world record gangbang isn't something I every thought someone who write about but it is what it is. I found it not to be overly nasty but sometimes wondered if Palahniuk was trying to be shocking just to be shocking. In the end I don't really have a great deal to write about this book. I didn't really enjoy it at all and in fact would have probably given it 1 star apart from some of the humour. Palahniuk likes to name the porn movies after famous books but to what end I'm not too sure at all. I disliked all the characters and worked out the name twist within a handful of chapters. I was left very disappointed when I had finished and I just to god that the other books by Palahniuk I bought are better. Reading though some reviews online it would seem that Snuff is a very polarizing book, some love it and others hate it. Free to a good home if anyone wants it. 2/5 (It was ok)

Casino Royale by Ian Fleming Synopsis This, the first of Fleming's tales of agent 007, finds Bond on a mission to neutralize a lethal, high-rolling Russian operative called simply 'Le Chiffre' - by ruining him at the baccarat table and forcing his Soviet spy masters to 'retire' him. It seems that lady luck is taken with James - Le Chiffre has hit a losing streak. But some people just refuse to play by the rules, and Bond's attraction to a beautiful female agent leads him to disaster and an unexpected savior. (Taken from Goodreads) My Thoughts My first Ian Fleming and James Bond book and where better to start than at the beginning. Having seen the Daniel Craig movie I was pretty interested to see how it differed from the book and where I felt each one was the better approach. Initially I was surprised at how small the books is, off the top of my head I think its not much more than 200 pages. The first thing that jumped out at me is that the Bond in my head is Sean Connery and not Roger Moore or even Daniel Craig given the book I was reading. At no point did I feel that this spoiled the book although it's worth noting that neither Le Chiffre or Vesper Lynd were their respective actors in my head. Maybe decades of watching Bond had ingrained him on my mind. Le Chiffre in particular is different to the movie and I think that the movie villain is a far better fit physically. I suspect that Fleming wanted him to be a more physically imposing figure than the movie required. He comes across in the book as more of a strong but slightly simple villain instead of some super evil baddie. The casino descriptions were top notch and I really love the idea of 1950's European casino's. They some how capture a certain time and class for me and somewhere I would love to visit if I had a time machine. Given that the book was written in 1953 I was pretty surprised about the torture scene and how brutal it was in it's detail. This just makes me wonder if the peril levels in later books remain as gritty as this and where merely toned down to slightly comical levels for the movies. I really enjoyed this read, it was quick and easy going with just enough going on to keep me constantly engaged. It did feel a little lacking in places but given that Bond is such a prominent character in modern life that's hardly surprising. I am looking forward to reading all the Bond books in the future. 4/5 (I really liked it)

I love Cold War era history, especially if It involves the Soviet side of things. I always hear about the great eastern European side of the era like Red Star but have no knowledge about them so it sounds like a book I would enjoy. Bit behind on my reviews, should really attempt to catch up ASAP.

The Tenth Circle sounds really interesting and its something I that I probably wouldn't read personally but your review has me intrigued. I will have to keep an eye out for it.

The Anatomy of England by Jonathan Wilson Synopsis Having invented the game, everything that has followed for England and its national football team has been something of an anticlimax. There was, of course, the golden summer of 1966, and the great period of English dominance on the world stage, which fell roughly between 1886 and 1900, when England won 35 of their 40 internationals ... But before long foreign teams, with their insistence on progressive 'tactics', began to pose a few questions. And much of what followed for England constituted a series of false dawns. In THE ANATOMY OF ENGLAND Jonathan Wilson seeks to place the bright spots in context. Time and again, progressive coaches have been spurned by England - technique being all very well, but what really matters is pluck and 'organised muscularity', or, to quote Jimmy Hogan's chairman at Aston Villa in 1936: 'I've no time for these theories about football. Just get the ball in the bloody net.' Wilson takes ten key England fixtures and explores how what actually happened on the pitch shaped the future of the English game. Bursting with insight and critical detail, yet imbued with a wry affection, this is a history of England like none before. (Taken from Amazon) My Thoughts Following the football trend I picked this up recently in my local Waterstones, based entirely on the fact that it is written by Jonathan Wilson. Wilson is a football journalist who works mainly for The Guardian and a man who's work I greatly admire. He is also the editor of The Blizzard, a football quarterly that he set up to allow journalists to write about the things they want to about football in depth without the overbearing eyes of newspaper editors. It is a great publication with pieces from football writers from all over the world, covering all aspects of the game you don't normally see in the newspaper. You won't for example read about the latest kiss and tell story thankfully. Wilson is very sharp when it comes to the wider world of football and also something normally overlooked, tactics. In this book he picks 10 significant matches from the England archives and delves into them, looking at what actually happened, why it happened and the fall out there after. He avoids the obvious games in most cases, for example the game from 1966 he looks at is England Vs Argentina. His writing style is very easy going and crams in a lot of information in without coming across as superior in anyway. I have to admit that the earlier games, although interesting were a bit lacking for me. I think this is mainly because I don't know that players involved. The tactical progression or lack of over the decades is particularly fascinating. Where the book really comes alive for me is during the modern game from the 80's onwards as I can remember the games involved. Discussion about Euro '96 and Italia 90's in particular are highlights. Personally I would have liked to see a game from the reign of Sven and Capello being tackled from a tactical point of view. I assume the Capello was omitted because at the time of writing the World Cup in South Africa hadn't yet happened. Sven being left out is probably because the time was unremarkable from a performance and tactical stand point. I am looking forward to getting some of Wilson's other books, especially Behind the Curtain which covers football in eastern Europe. 4/5 (I really liked it)

I've got another non-fiction football book to review that Ive just finished, hopefully I'll have it done in the morning. Started Casino Royale by Ian Fleming while I was waiting at the docs this morning and I'm really enjoying it so far. My book buying is not really slowing despite some of my efforts to curtail it. I ordered a few off Amazon and the others have come from my favorite second hand bookstore. My haul today was Snuff - Chuck Palahniuk Haunted - Chuck Palahniuk People Who Eat Darkness - Richard Parry Invisible Monsters - Chuck Palahniuk The Plot Against America - Philip Roth The Necropolis Railway - Andrew Martin Moonraker - Ian Fleming Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift Must stop buying!

Carra by Jaime Carragher Synopsis Jamie Carragher is one of the most charismatic footballers of his generation. Adored by the fans, he was recently voted the most popular player in the entire Liverpool squad. Yet the young Carra came to Liverpool as an Everton fan, from an Everton family, and with Everton friends. Packed with great anecdotes, controversial opinions and large helpings of his trademark humor, this is his story. Born in January 1978 in Bootle, Merseyside, Carragher signed professional terms with Liverpool in 1996, having served a successful apprenticeship, won the FA Youth Cup and played for England Under-21s. He scored a goal in his first full game for the senior team—pretty good for a defender and very unusual for him—and his versatility was to ensure a permanent place in the starting line up before long and he is now vice Captain. In fact he is so integral to the Liverpool squad, the Kop now chants "we all dream of a team of Carraghers" to the tune of "Yellow Submarine." Raw, funny, and down-to-earth, his book is an antidote to the anodyne sports autobiography. It takes you behind the scenes of all of Liverpool and England's greatest triumphs and disasters in the company of a player who never fails to be intelligent, controversial, or just downright hilarious. (Taken from Goodreads) My Thoughts I am always a bit wary of football biographies as the modern trend is for players to write them (or have them written) far too early in their careers. The best ones in my opinion are the ones which have a story to tell, ones in which a player has a story to tell beyond the world of football. Players like Gazza, Robbie Fowler and Tony Adams for example all have had interesting lives and have a real tale to tell. I am a Liverpool supporter and so this book was a must read for me and finding it for £1.50 in a second hand bookshop was something I couldn't pass up. Fortunately there isn't a lot of Carragher's childhood covered as I find this part of most autobiographies to be tedious. Only the important parts are covered such as the fact that his mother was under pressure to terminate him because of a mis-diagonsed birth defect. Being catholic she saw this as not being an option, something he is understandably greatful for. All the major parts of his career are covered including his disappointment at the way he was treated by different England bosses and why he came to see international duty as a chore. I never really understood this way of thinking but over time I have come to understand why players such as Carragher and Scholes have retired from England duty early. One of the most startling aspects of his early career is how he went from being a stauch Everton fan to become a fierce Liverpool player. I knew he had his reasons but didn't realise just how passionately he felt about his conversion and the reasons why. Inevitably he best chapter is the one about the Champions League victory in 2005 over AC Milan. It is a moment that will live with all Liverpool supporters for ever and its great to read insight from someone who played in the game. He lays the facts as they are, including the fact that although he was calm at halftime Rafa was a little unsure on what to do. He covers all the managers he worked under and it is interesting to see the differing opinions players have of the same manager. Unfortunately when the book was written the takeover by FSG hadn't happened and it would have been interesting to hear his take on the ins and outs of it all. In the end, this is a good read but as with all sport based books I think it really helps if you already have an interest in the player or team involved. This is one of the better football autobiographies about. 4/5 (I really liked it)

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque Synopsis Paul Baumer enlisted with his classmates in the German army of World War I. Youthful, enthusiastic, they become soldiers. But despite what they have learned, they break into pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches. And as horrible war plods on year after year, Paul holds fast to a single vow: to fight against the principles of hate that meaninglessly pits young men of the same generation but different uniforms against each other--if only he can come out of the war alive. (Taken from Goodreads) My Thoughts This book has been sitting on my TBR pile for a while now, I think coming up on 2 years. Seeing as though I like reading about the wars its a surprise that it has taken me this long to get round to it. Initially it wasn't going to be the next book I read, in fact it wasn't even on my horizon to be read any time soon. The only reason I grabbed it off the shelf is that I was heading out to the doctors and I knew I would be in for a bit of waiting around. I wanted something nice and small and this was the first thing that came to hand, being just over 200 pages it was perfect. Within the first few pages I knew it had picked a winner and I was hooked in. Although I have read extensively about the second world war, the first world war has passed my reading by a little. Remarque covers the subject with great skill, mixing in soldier humour, worries, hardship and humanity all at the same time. There is no doubting, parts of the tale make horrific reading and you can't help but have the heartstrings pulled when a comrade falls. It's the human side of the soldier's story that got me more than anything else. There is no bravado over the fighting from the soldiers, that all comes from people back home who aren't fighting on the front line. This becomes very evident when Paul goes home on leave and realises he wishes he hadn't. People want to tell him how proud they are and what a great war it is, all he can think about is the waste of human life and how his mates are getting on back on the front line. There is also the ludicrous episode when an officer on civvy street bawls him out for not saluting properly which understandably makes his blood boil. Paul's thoughts are not only with his comrades but also with the people who he his fighting. They are going through the same as they are he often comments, although their food is better. There is no real emotion in the killing of them, its a mechanical action, kill or be killed. In the moments of reflection however, there is real regret at the war and the situation it has put both sides of soldiers in. This is reinforced when it comes to using face to face combat to save his own life. He wounds an enemy soldier but can't bring himself to finish him off though and he suffers a slow death. He promises himself that he will write to the family of his victim. That feeling passes when he is back on his own line, back in the business of war fighting. The ending left me with mixed emotions but in a good way. I can't really go into details with posting a spoiler so I won't comment further. This is an incredible book in many ways and it is one I can see myself re-reading many times over. It really has stood the test of time and I would highly, highly recommend it to everyone regardless of your like or dislike or war stories. 5/5 (It was amazing)

Congrats Frankie, I noticed earlier but assumed you had always been a mod, not very observant of me.

One of the best things about eReaders is the fact that a lot of older 'classic' books are out of copyright and therefore free to download. That would mean if you find anything you think they should have that is free you can get them stuck on the eReaders at zero cost to the library.

I think they are held in such high esteem because Asimov lead the way in modern sci-fi writing. Although the characters don't seem to be that developed (to me at least) the plot and historic timeline covered is very rich. It manages to mix in many parts of life as we know it today like politics and war. I guess sci-fi writers today have the existence of space ships, anti gravity drives, atomic engines etc to call on. Things that most readers have heard of despite being purely fictional inventions by previous writers. Although he is not alone I would imagine that Asimov has played a huge part in that and helped shape modern sci-fi into what it is today. I'm not a sci-fi fan in particular, in fact I've only read maybe half a dozen sci-fi books but I still enjoyed Foundation. The books I have seen on the shelves tend to be quite short so that means even if you don't really enjoy then its only a short read. Had any of them been 600 pages long I probably wouldn't have taken a chance. Seeing as though Ooshie has read them both I'm sure she can add more experience of the books than I can.

I am the same. As much as I love gadget and use loads of them I still tend to do the majority of my reading using books. My parents on the other hand have been reading loads since they got Kindles for christmas.

Increased doesn't cover the half of it but at least the book I'm finished with now go to a good cause. I keep some of them but the majority go to charity stores. This place takes all the blame. As I understand it, Asimov thought that they should be read in the order they were published. A lot of fans think they should be read in the order of the history covered. I can imagine that reading them when they were published must have been mindblowing and I can see where a lot of modern sci-fi has a lot to owe Asimov.

Foundation by Isaac Asimov Synopsis Long after Earth was forgotten, a peaceful and unified galaxy took shape, an Empire governed from the majestic city planet of Trantor. The system worked, and grew, for countless generations. Everyone believed it would work forever. Everyone except Hari Seldon. As the great scientific thinker of his age, Seldon could not be ignored. Reluctantly, the Commission of Public Safety agreed to finance the Seldon Plan. The coming disaster was predicted by Seldon’s advances in psychohistory, the mathematics of very large human numbers, and it could not be averted. The Empire was doomed. Soon Trantor would lie in ruins. Chaos would overtake humanity. But the Seldon Plan was a long term strategy to minimise the worst of what was to come. Two Foundations were set up at opposite ends of the galaxy. Of the Second nothing can be told. It guards the secrets of psychohistory. 'Foundation' is the story of the First Foundation, on the remote planet of Terminus, from which those secrets were withheld. The epic story of the Foundation is one of the great classics of science fiction. For fifty years the innovative genius of Isaac Asimov has surged ahead of real time. He is the Grand Master of the genre. (Taken from Amazon) My Thoughts After enjoying I, Robot so much I decided to attack another Isaac Asimov title, Foundation. It was originally part of a trilogy but in later years more books were added including a prequel. There is a differing opinion as to what order they are best read but I decided on sticking with the first one published. The basic premise follows the historic tale of the inhabitants of a planet called Terminus. Their path through time has been predicted by a psychohisotrial called Hari Seldon. The book covers a wide time span, focusing on different eras instead of one small time frame. As a result none of the characters are developed to a great extent, much the same as in I, Robot. I don't find this an issue as I actually really enjoy his economy of words and letting the story do the work. I enjoyed the book but not as much as I enjoyed I, Robot. I am not sure why, I can't quite put my finger on it but it may have been down the fact that I, Robot contained a collection of short stories. I don't have a copy of the next book in the series so I wont be reading it as soon as I would like. 3/5 (I liked it)

I haven't read anything else by Hardy, my reading of classics is pretty lacking at the moment. I would give something else by him a shot if I found it cheap in a second hand book store. He wouldn't get much leeway though, a hint of annoyance and it would go out the window.

Words can't describe how much I hated Tess, I was forced to read it at school. Don't feel bad, I took a punt and it was ok, it just didnt dazzle me, I won't let it put me off Hornby. You should check out some Jules Verne for sure, it will help you tick off a few more on the 1001 list

I, Robot by Isaac Asimov Synopsis The three laws of Robotics: 1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm 2) A robot must obey orders givein to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. With these three, simple directives, Isaac Asimov changed our perception of robots forever when he formulated the laws governing their behavior. In I, Robot, Asimov chronicles the development of the robot through a series of interlinked stories: from its primitive origins in the present to its ultimate perfection in the not-so-distant future--a future in which humanity itself may be rendered obsolete. Here are stories of robots gone mad, of mind-read robots, and robots with a sense of humor. Of robot politicians, and robots who secretly run the world--all told with the dramatic blend of science fact and science fiction that has become Asmiov's trademark. (Taken from Amazon) My Thoughts I decided to make this my next read because I picked it up cheap at a charity shop and I think it's on the 1001 books list. Ive not really delved too far into the world of sci-fi so I didnt think there would be too many better places to start than Isaac Asimov. I have seen the movie of the same name but knew very little about the original book. I was surprised and delighted in equal measures with the fact that the book is a collection of short stories and bares almost no resemblance to the movie. There are some characters with the same name like Susan Calvin but not much more. The short stories are all linked together by both Calvin and the 3 rules of robotics mentioned above. I found all of the short stories very engaging and I couldn't wait to read the next one in the book once I had finished the one I was reading. I found the style very relaxed and sparse, allowing the meat of the tale of draw you in. I liked this book so much that I went out and bought Foundation which I have already started. It's the first in a trilogy and I am really looking forward to reading all three in the series. Even if you are not a sci-fi fan I would recommend that you read I, Robot. 4/5 (I really liked it)

I've decided to knock 2666 on the head for the time being. I'm over quarter of the way through and it's still not doing anything for me. My TBR pile is growing and growing thanks to this place. I've gone from buying maybe 20 a year to having bought about 40 already this year. Life is too short to carry on reading things that I'm not really enjoying.

I picked up a copy of The Devotion of Suspect X and I'm glad to see it got good reviews from you. I think its the 3rd in a series, does not reading the first 2 hurt the experience at all?

I picked up copies of both Birdsong and A Week In December so I shall excitedly await your reviews. Your Read/TBR ratio is pretty good, I have no idea what mine is but recent discoveries of second hand book shops has ruined mine