Brian.

@Hayley I’m about 150 pages into it and so far I love it.

@Hayley I’m not sure what made me choose Crime and Punishment but being by a Russian author was definitely part of the decision making process. I think as part of my interest in the Cold War I’ve always been keen to learn more about Russian history and historic culture.

Over the last 10 days or so I have finished another 2 books, bringing my total for the year to date to 23. First up was The Templars (4/5) by Dan Jones. I started this book back in May and despite enjoying what I read it got sidetracked for other books. It is an account on the rise and fall the the Templars. The book is really well researched and written with loads of footnotes and sources. I really enjoyed reading this one. Last week I had half an hour to burn in town before an appointment so popped into the library and picked up The Outsider (4/5) by Albert Camus. I can’t really put my finger on why, but I did enjoy this one and it helped that its only just over 100 pages long. I thought I had previously read another book by Camus but a quick check of Goodreads shows that this is not the case so I will have to remedy that soon. Up next for me is a forum favourite, Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch.

This evening I will make a start on Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch. I don’t know anything about it really except for the fact the people on this forum seem to really like it. I trust your collective judgement.

I probably wouldn’t say that books have exactly shaped my character but without a doubt what I have read has affected my outlook on life. Instead of saying how books have shaped my character I would flip it and say that there are definitely books which have changed me as a person throughout my life. Some books have played a part in changing my beliefs but others have simply had an affect on what I chose to read. My earliest reading memory would be reading Beatrix Potter and also an old beaten up copy of The Adventures of Brer Rabbit. I didn’t read a huge amount during my school years but I do remember having to read Macbeth, An Inspector Calls, and Tess of the D’Urbervilles. I really hated Tess and it made me avoid classics for a very long time but I do remember enjoying the other two. The first book I asked for as a present, and got, was Bravo Two Zero by Andy McNab. I really liked it at the time (less so now) and it lead me to read non-fiction exclusively for many years. The next big milestone book for me was Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. I had been listening to a podcast (I was an early lover of them) and heard it mentioned so gave it a go and it opened up a whole world of fiction to me that I had previously ignored. Since then I have read at a pretty constant pace of about 40 - 50 books a year. I distinctively remember reading my first ‘classic’, Crime and Punishment, which convinced me that I could enjoy classics. For many years I had assumed that as I disliked Tess I wouldn’t have the intellect to enjoy classics. It turned out that this belief was false, I just hadn’t found a classic that resonated with me. Like most people I struggled to be comfortable with myself as a young man and one book did benefit me in a big way, Buddhism WIthout Belief by Stephen Batchelor. I was living away from home for the first time and felt really anxious all the time and very unsure of myself. This book presented a very practical way to think of life but most importantly without the dogma usually attached to religion. I first read it about 20 years ago but to this day even though I wouldn’t count myself as a religious person I still think about what I learned reading that book and revisit it often.

I’ve never read an author’s biography but I would be interested in reading more about someone like George Orwell as he seems to have lead a very interesting life. I know a lot of his stuff is autobiographical to a certain extent but nonetheless I imagine a complete life story would be a great read.

Welcome to the forum

I'm hoping to join in this one as well.

I finished the Wallander series last year and I absolutely loved it so I hope you like Dogs of Riga.

I'm about halfway through The Templars by Dan Jones. It's a non-fiction book all about the real story of the Templars, how they came to be and how they came to an end. It's packed with research and is very readable.

The Dracula is a Barnes and Noble leatherbound classic collection edition. Originally I was after a Folio one but they don't do one at the moment. I did notice the other day that Amaranthine Books have just launched 2 limited editions of Dracula which look absolutely stunning but they are really expensive. I have seen the Folio sale and they keep tempting me with emails but there isn't anything in the sale that I am wanting to buy urgently. I do need to buy the next in the Bond series but I might wait until they print the next one as well to save a bit on postage.

I keep seeing this pop up with positive reviews, I may have to pick up a copy.

I didn't finish it so I can't speak on the plot as a whole but what I did read story-wise was the sort of thing I really like. I always really get into book which have a basis in some historic passage of time especially when it is recent enough that I have a grasp of what happened.

I some times do flick back and re-read some of the stuff I've written a year before.

It's been a good week for me reading wise and I have read 3 books and abandoned 1 (although I am counting as read because I gave it a good stab. I popped into the library and after a bit of a nose round I picked up a Teach Yourself book called Write A Novel (4/5). I'm not a writer, far from it in fact, but I am always interested in how a novel is crafted and this book gave a really good basic insight into the stages and different approaches to writing a novel. It may inspire me to give some short stories a go, we'll see. At the same time I started to read my copy of Cocaine Nights (4/5) by JG Ballard that I bought a while ago and has been sitting on the bookcase ever since. I read, and loved Empire of the Sun in 2014 and gave Crash a go a few years back but didn't get on with it so put it down after an hour and I'm yet to go back to it. I really liked Cocaine Nights, especially as I had no idea what it was about going into it. I like a lot of what Ballard has to say both in the book and in his interviews so I may have to give Crash another go soon. Yesterday was fairly quiet at work so I managed to read one of my BCF prizes, The Fox (3/5) by Frederick Forsyth. After Milkman (more on that soon) it was just what I needed to get me going again. Very easy reading with a fast moving plot which was interesting even if it was fairly far fetched. I do have a few bones to pick with it, especially the way the Luke Jennings situation came to it's conclusion at the end but it entertained me nonetheless. Now finally onto Milkman (1/5) by Anna Burns. I bought this as it popped up in my recommendations on Amazon. I read the blurb and it sounded like the sort of thing that would keep me interested. It had also won the Man Booker prize so I thought that was another positive sign. I generally don't pay much heed to prizes but there is no doubt that some prize winning books are superb so I didn't think I could go far wrong. Well, I managed to stick with it for a few hours before throwing it across the room (figuratively, I wouldn't actually throw a book, not even Tess of the D'Urbervilles). The style just killed the book for me and I couldn't get on with it at all. Stream of consciousness isn't my bag but I can usually adapt to it as I read but in this case it was too much for me. The story seemed to really trudge along at a painfully slow pace and none of the characters have names, very annoying. If anyone wants Milkman or Cocaine Nights, let me know and I'll happily send them to you free of charge.

Thanks Gaia. I used to have books literally stacked everywhere a few years ago but I had a massive cull of anything I had read. Recently I have been collecting Folio or fine press editions of the books I really loved to keep forever, they are the ones on the top shelf.

After yesterday's disaster I have started to read one of my BCF prizes, The Fox by Frederick Forsyth.

I just couldn't do it. I managed about 70 pages before closing it and sticking it back in my bag. The style is just too tedious for me to get on with and nothing seems to be happening. It also doesn't help that Anna Burns chooses not no name any characters or places. I'm sure some people will love it but it's not for me and life is too short to struggle through books I'm not enjoying. The only problem with putting it aside is that I don't have another book with me to read at the moment.

I had to make a quick decision on what to read next as I left the house this morning and picked up Milkman by Anna Burns.

I did a little bit of book shopping yesterday and then sorted out the top shelf of my bookcase. I still need to sort out the others but that can wait until next week.

I'll have to read it sooner rather than later. I sat in bed this morning for a few hours to finish Cocaine Nights by JG Ballard. Going into the book I had no idea what it was about as I purposely avoided reading any synopsis. I have read Empire of the Sun and absolutely loved it but gave up on Crash after about 10 pages so I wasn't sure what I was heading into. The story starts with our main character Charles heading to Estrella de Mar to find out what is going on with his brother who has pleaded guilty to an arson in which 5 people have died. On the surface Estrella de Mar is a gated community full of expats enjoying a life of leisure but digging a little deeper Charles find drugs, prostitution, and crime. I really enjoyed this one and just kept reading it every moment I could. The book has the pace of a crime thriller and I really like Ballard's use of the English language. Throughout the book I kept wondering what Ballard would make of the world today. I suspect he would feel vindicated but also quite sad that he was proved right.

I watched Rocketman yesterday and despite not being my kind of music I really enjoyed it. Taron Egerton gets better in each movie I see him in.

I picked up a book I’ve been meaning to read for ages, Cocaine Nights by J G Ballard. I purposefully avoided reading the synopsis and it’s completely different to what I thought it would be like and I’m loving it so far.

My reading mojo remained pretty strong last week so I managed to finish off 2 more books. The Black Prince by Robby Robinson. This was loaned to me by one of the guys I work with. I'm not a fan of bodybuilding but the guy who lent it to me assured me that although Robby is a bodybuilder his story is interesting on its own and he wasn't wrong. Robby came from a poor background and found peace with a small group of friends who spent their time working out. Racism was never far away but he found an acceptance in the gym that wasn't readily available outside. Eventually he found his way into the top tier of bodybuilders and encountered corruption, more racism, and an industry widely controlled by one guy who pretty much decides who would be successful and who wouldn't. In an attempt to escape this he moved to Europe to continue to compete and do seminars with young bodybuilders. He also covers his frustrations and how modern bodybuilding has become a competition in who has got the best access to drugs. (4/5) The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist. I can't remember if I found this at work or bought it from a charity shop but I uncovered it while moving some books around at home. The basic premise is that the main character Dorrit moves into the Second Reserve Bank Unit on her 50th birthday. In the unit she is guaranteed to have a comfortable life with loads of things to do and similar people to keep her occupied. The catch is that the occupants are required to donate their time for experiments and their organs to others more important so as to be a benefit to society. Their time will come to an end when they are required to make 'the final donation' and they die. Although I enjoyed this book I was left wanting more from it. The premise is sooo good and is the exact kind of thing that really interests me but it just didn't quite work for me. I kept feeling like there was a message behind the story but for the life of me I just couldn't put my finger on it. There are clear divisions between those in the society who have children and those who don't but I have no idea what the underlying reason for this was. (2/5)

I have to admit that I know nothing about it, I bought it on the strength that it was the Man Booker prize winner for 2018. I tend to avoid buying books based on awards wins but I do like to try to pick up books that are outside what I would usually read from time to time and this one jumped out at me. I still have my copy on the bookcase as I haven't got round to dropping it off at the charity shop yet. If you want to I'm happy to send it to you just drop me a PM with your email.