Brian.

Gojira @ Koko tonight. The first gig I have been to this year which is something that I didn't think I would say. Sonisphere was cancelled and there just hasn't been any bands playing that I really wanted to see. December brings Band of Skulls @ Brixton Academy and then Deftones in Feb (I think). Going to Berlin in June to see Iron Maiden again, I just know that it will be a superb gig in one of my favourite cities.

Thanks for the comment. You are right, his command of the English language is simply amazing given that it's not his native tongue.

Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney Synopsis With the publication of Bright Lights, Big City in 1984, Jay McInerney became a literary sensation, heralded as the voice of a generation. The novel follows a young man, living in Manhattan as if he owned it, through nightclubs, fashion shows, editorial offices, and loft parties as he attempts to outstrip mortality and the recurring approach of dawn. With nothing but goodwill, controlled substances, and wit to sustain him in this anti-quest, he runs until he reaches his reckoning point, where he is forced to acknowledge loss and, possibly, to rediscover his better instincts. This remarkable novel of youth and New York remains one of the most beloved, imitated, and iconic novels in America. (Taken from Goodreads) My Thoughts I'm not sure where I picked up the recommendation for this book but it would have been a list somewhere. From what I can tell this is held in some regard and liking a good dose of debauchery I couldn't wait to get stuck in. For some reason it just didnt really work for me. I found the writing style, especially the fact that it is written in the second person to be quite entertaining. The story moves along at a good pace and it kept my attention throughout. Despite this I felt that something was missing for me. For this kind of story I much preffered Junky by William S Burroughs. I can see why it is really tied in with American Psycho, another book that I really didnt like although for different reasons. There isnt really anything for me to add, it was ok but no more. 2/5 (It was ok).

Same here, Dad's Army must feature in the lives of so many people in the UK. I watched them as a child (that and Allo Allo) despite them being old then and still catch the repeats from time to time.

I have recently realised just how many books I have got rid of this year. I don't tend to re-read books so I decided to slowly get rid of anything that I have read unless I found it amazing, Alone in Berlin being one I would keep. My TBR of fiction currently sits at just over 100 if my memory serves me well, non-fiction probably about 80ish mark. Leaving these aside I think I must have given away between 150-200 books with many more to go. At first I thought it would be impossible but slowly I got used to it and now my bookcases are far less intimidating. It's strangely liberating.

Sounds like you are approaching it like a military mission

I'll be very interested to see what you think of White Noise. I read it last year and although it is highly rated by many people I just couldn't get into it.

Wow, my mojo has been really weird lately. I started a new shift pattern at work and that seems to have really had an effect on my reading. Despite this I have started Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney. I seem to be favouring novellas at the moment so it's just as well that I have plenty on hand. I am enjoying it so far but not as much as I hoped I would and I usually love books full of debauchery.

Whether I continued to read would depend on how much I liked the story. I generally give a book 100 pages before I give up on it. As long as I found the story enjoyable at that point I would read on.

Ive found I tend to use my kindle primarily for books that are initially only available as hardbacks that I don't want to pay huge amounts for. I have found that the free availability of books that are out of copyright is also something I have been making use for. The kindle is also a bit of a godsend if I have to go work away or do a course where taking a few books is impractical. I have nothing against ebooks but I still prefer the real thing and I am blessed with some very cheap charity bookshops locally. I must admit that I also like the idea of being able to lend books out to as many people as I can which is something that is very difficult with ebooks. I also have an issue with the fact that you don't own the digital book as such an are just given a license to access it but that's another matter all together.

'The stone was up in the ass of Timo' There must be something in the Finnish sense of humour, Kimi Raikkonen has said some hilarious things to reporters over the years.

The Secret Race by Tyler Hamilton & Daniel Coyle Synopsis Over the course of two years, Coyle conducted more than two hundred hours of interviews with Hamilton and spoke candidly with numerous teammates, rivals, and friends. The result is an explosive book that takes us, for the first time, deep inside a shadowy, fascinating, and surreal world of unscrupulous doctors, anything-goes team directors, and athletes so relentlessly driven to succeed that they would do anything—and take any risk, physical, mental, or moral—to gain the edge they need to win. Tyler Hamilton was once one of the world’s best-liked and top-ranked cyclists—a fierce competitor renowned among his peers for his uncanny endurance and epic tolerance for pain. In the 2003 Tour de France, he finished fourth despite breaking his collarbone in the early stages—and grinding eleven of his teeth down to the nerves along the way. He started his career with the U.S. Postal Service team in the 1990s and quickly rose to become Lance Armstrong’s most trusted lieutenant, and a member of his inner circle. For the first three of Armstrong’s record seven Tour de France victories, Hamilton was by Armstrong’s side, clearing his way. But just weeks after Hamilton reached his own personal pinnacle—winning the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics—his career came to a sudden, ignominious end: He was found guilty of doping and exiled from the sport. From the exhilaration of his early, naïve days in the peloton, Hamilton chronicles his ascent to the uppermost reaches of this unforgiving sport. In the mid-1990s, the advent of a powerful new blood-boosting drug called EPO reshaped the world of cycling, and a relentless, win-at-any-cost ethos took root. Its psychological toll would drive many of the sport’s top performers to substance abuse, depression, even suicide. For the first time ever, Hamilton recounts his own battle with clinical depression, speaks frankly about the agonizing choices that go along with the decision to compete at a world-class level, and tells the story of his complicated relationship with Lance Armstrong. (Taken from Goodreads) My Thoughts I was in a bit of an odd mood trying to decide what to read next so I decided to have a quick look on the kindle store and this caught my eye. With everything that has been in the news recently about professional cycling and Lance Armstrong I thought it would make an interesting read. Whilst reading it I discovered that it has been long-listed for the 'William Hill sports book of the year'. Last year the winner was A Life Too Short by Ronald Reng, a book which I thought was fantastic. The first thing I want to point out about this book is that although he does feature often in this book it is not primarily about Lance Armstrong. He does feature, as do all of Hamilton's team mates but the main focus is what Hamilton and the wider professional cycling circuit did in regards to doping. Hamilton is very keen to make is known that everyone was at it and that there are no real heroes or villains, just dopers. Everything is explained in a very simple and easy to understand way, there is very little in the way of technical jargon. This, coupled with the writing style makes this a very easy book to read and I found it hard to put down. Everything is laid bare and its fairly obvious to me that Hamilton feels genuine remorse for what he and others did but he also feels that the UCI needs to be held accountable as well. Rightly or wrongly he feels that the UCI knew what was going on and helped to keep it under-wraps and protect its biggest stars. He also goes into some detail about riders who refused to dope under extreme pressure and as a result lost their rides and ultimately their careers. These are the real victims in this whole sordid affair and its these people who probably lost most. Although Hamilton says he holds no ill will towards Armstrong I thought it was clear that he wishes that he would admit his part in the doping. Whilst not attacking him directly he does describe what happened to him and others who got on the wrong side of Armstrong and the bullying tactics he also used towards journalists who questioned the validity of his tour results. I don't know if this will win the prize this year, I haven't read the other books but it is very well written. Whilst it isn't up to the standard of last years winner it is a very good read and would make a worthy winner. I enjoyed it immensely and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in sports in general. 5/5 (It was amazing).

I am very easily amused, the sillier the better. Father Ted has a rather potty mouthed alcoholic old priest called Father Jack (youtube him if you are curious) and he says it a lot. I just cant imagine someone with a Finnish accent saying it and thats what made me chuckle.

Been away for a bit including a bit of time in Berlin so I've not been posting. I have 1 book review to do and the I have to decide what will be my next read. Its a too up between the next (for me) Nesbo book or Memoirs of a Geisha.

I don't know why but your use of 'fecking' had me laughing out loud. Have you seen Father Ted?

My limited understanding on speedreading is that it allows you to read much more rapidly whilst maintaining comprehension. Its something that I think requires a lot of practice and for me it takes away a lot of the enjoyment of reading.

This looks like a fantastic book, I look forward to seeing what you think of it. You are right about how little non-ficiton seems to feature on books forums. Before I joined up here I read non-fiction almost exclusively and although that has changed I estimate that 30% of my reading is still non-fiction.

In an attempt to get some semblance of order on my bookcases I went through my 'to-read' list on Goodreads. I TBR now stands at 123 and that is only fiction books, I haven't gone through my non-ficiton, I think I will put that off for a while yet.

The diplomacy was very much appreciated

I love reading about your book buying. It makes me far less guilty about my book buying

This year is the my first delve into Russian literature and I could really tell that Nabokov wrote in English when compared to translated works of other writers. Lolita is by far the easiest to read although I found Tolstoy fairly straight forward reading as well. I wasn't aware of 'the Long Island Lolita', thanks for the wiki summary, I can see why see got that nickname.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Synopsis Awe and exhiliration--along with heartbreak and mordant wit--abound in Lolita, Nabokov's most famous and controversial novel, which tells the story of the aging Humbert Humbert's obsessive, devouring, and doomed passion for the nymphet Dolores Haze. Lolita is also the story of a hypercivilized European colliding with the cheerful barbarism of postwar America. (Taken from Goodreads) My Thoughts As a classic, this book has been on my radar for quite a while but anytime I went to one of my local bookshops they never had a copy. Finally, last week I managed to buy a copy in London and I couldn't think of a better book to read as my 50th of the year. I had set myself a goal of 50 books this year on Goodreads and I am surprised at how easily I have got there after last year's attempt. I have to say that the subject of the book is fairly unsettling and I have heard of people getting very negative reactions from uneducated people when seen reading it in public. Despite this I only even got words of approval from anyone who saw me reading this with many people telling me how great a book this is. I would guess that it is one of the most recognisable book titles because of the way it has found itself into modern culture. I enjoyed the first 2/3rds of the book so much so that I was going to award it 5 stars but I dropped this to 4 stars as I didn't enjoy the last 1/3rd as much. I don't know what to put this down to, it may possibly have been that I was tired reading the last 3rd. The story moves along at a great pace which makes this a very easy book to read. The thing that stuck out most for me and the reason why I enjoyed it so much is Nabakov's writing style. His word play is simply fantastic and I kept finding myself re-reading a passage that I had just read because it was so great. What makes this even more remarkable to me is that he wrote the book in English instead of Russian. He understood English wordplay far better than most native English speakers in my opinion. This is a great book and I can see it is so highly regarded. 4/5 (I really liked it).

I finished Lolita yesterday evening, a book a enjoyed very much. Not sure what to read next, I took Pompeii by Robert Harris to work but I haven't started it yet so I may swap it for another book.

This isn't a novel btw Sari, it is a biography written by a man who suffers from Savant Syndrome which is a severe type of aspergers syndrome. It means that he lack social skills and common sense but has incredible mental agilty especially where numbers are concerned. If I recall correctly he sees numbers as colours hence the title of the book. It really is a fascinating read so you should bump it way up your TBR.