sajid78 Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Unfortunately, for one reason or another I have never been able to pick up a book and read it for a sustained amount of time. In fact, the last time I read a book properly was at High School, as I am now 30, that was around 14 years ago. I have never been able to read fiction, on the rare occasions I have read in the past I have usually read books on Current Affairs. My interests are Current Affairs, Football (which takes up a lot of my time unfortunately), and learning about the past. I think like a lot of people of my age, the advances in technology has had a detrimental affect on my reading. I just find it hard to pick up a book, and persevere with it, especially with the distractions of Satellite T.V, Internet, Playstation, Football and so on....... Now although I enjoy engaging in all of the above activities, there is only so much you can partake in them before being declared brain dead! I would like to start reading, but don't know what books to start with, a number of friends have suggested Historical Fiction written by Bernard Cornwell, and I will probably try one of his books in the near future. I was wondering if any of you guys would be kind enough, to make any recommendations to some books you think may spark my interest in books. I would prefer people to suggest a Fiction and a Non Fiction book each, that are easy to read and page turners. Thanks in advance. Best Regards Sajid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sajid78 Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 Actually I haven't gave a lot of information really for anyone to make an informed suggestion, so if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 If football's your thing, Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch could well be a great book to get back into reading. It's easy, well written and very good at catching the mood of a football fan. It's basically about the Arsenal 88-89 Season, but it's actually much wider. It's been copied a lot, but I don't think it's been bettered. So that would be my non-fiction recommendation. For fiction, I guess we need to steer clear of anything to long, or difficult, to start with - which eliminates lots of my very favourite stuff. Anyway, for entertainment, and a bit of a link to current affairs and history, I suppose you could look at the classic Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. It's quite long, but it's definitely a page turner and also very funny as well as poignant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sajid78 Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 If football's your thing, Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch could well be a great book to get back into reading. It's easy, well written and very good at catching the mood of a football fan. It's basically about the Arsenal 88-89 Season, but it's actually much wider. It's been copied a lot, but I don't think it's been bettered. So that would be my non-fiction recommendation. For fiction, I guess we need to steer clear of anything to long, or difficult, to start with - which eliminates lots of my very favourite stuff. Anyway, for entertainment, and a bit of a link to current affairs and history, I suppose you could look at the classic Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. It's quite long, but it's definitely a page turner and also very funny as well as poignant. Thank you very much for your input Andy. I think I bought Fever Pitch years ago, but never started it. As for Catch 22, I have to admit I have it in my wish-list on Amazon, so definitely will be looking at that one again as a possibility. They seem like great suggestions, Catch 22 especially has provoked an interest for me and I will be looking it up on wikipedia, as to what sort of book it is. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 Hi Sajid Welcome to the forum! Sorry I can't help you now, football and historic fiction not really my thing but I'm sure there will be someone on here who could! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sajid78 Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 Hi Sajid Welcome to the forum! Sorry I can't help you now, football and historic fiction not really my thing but I'm sure there will be someone on here who could! Thanks for replying Charm, don't worry about not being able to suggest a book this time around. Judging from your profile, you seem very knowledgeable on Books, so hopefully when I get into reading a bit more, you can help me in the future....I am sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 When you say your interests are current affairs and the past, are there any particular things that interest you? Any periods of history? Or any regions in terms of current affairs? That kind of thing is often a good way of accessing books. Certainly some of the best stuff I've ever read came from a phase of being interested in the Balkans. And the best travel writing is always about places you want to go or are a bit obsessed by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beef Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 how about the books that inspired movies like Green Street and Football Factory? (total mind blank but I will go scour my book shelves after my driving lesson and come back with a name). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyD Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 The Damned United by David Peace is meant to be brilliant - a novel about Brian Clough. It had fantastic reviews (and is quite cheap on Amazon too at the moment, I've just seen!) Let us know how you get on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carm Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Hello welcome and enjoy!!! I would recommend The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett- it's rather long and can look intimidating but it's a really wonderful novel of historical fiction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spooncat Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Hello there and welcome. My suggestion would be The Boy in The Stripped Pyjamas - you will be able to read it in a couple of hours - very easy to get into and has a historical element to it. I was like you a while back - I would start books and never finish them it used to drive my husband mad he could never understand it! but I havent done that in a while , I do still tend to prefer shorter books and anything too long my interest tends to wane - the last long book i read i also managed to read 2 shorter ones in between and went back to the original book ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sajid78 Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 Guys, I really appreciate all your replies! You are a useful bunch, and I gave credence to all your suggestions, and visited my local library this afternoon with a list. However, unfortunately none of the suggested books were available for loan:motz: So I had to improvise, and choose form what was available. here are the 3 books I chose: Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee Sharpe's Tiger - Bernard Cornwell I intend to read them in the order listed, as I think with Of Mice and Men being a short book it will an easier book to start with than the other 2, that should hopefully get me in the groove......... As I said before thank you for all your suggestions, I wish I could have at least found one in the library so I could give you feedback, but rest assured if I get into a bit of a habit, I will definitely read them in the future. Thanks again, and keep your fingers crossed for me, as I start a new adventure......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beef Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 the name of the book I was thinking of is "Top Dog" . Fingers well and truly crossed for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Butter Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Good choices. Come back and let us know how you got on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spooncat Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 I havent read the other 2 but To Kill a Mockingbird is a great read:readingtwo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Of Mice and Men is a great book. I'm jealous that you get to read it for the first time. It's fairly easy in its writing style. Even better for you, you don't have a teacher nagging you to write essays about it when you're 14. (Same is true of To Kill A Mockingbird, actually, although that's a bit more substantial. You should get some excellent historical insight into the Deep South reading that, which ties in nicely to all the recent talk of civil rights stuff linked to Barack Obama). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipread Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Hello, welcome to BCF. Hope you enjoy your chosen books, I`m sure you will, & you`ve got a few ideas for the future. I`m sure you`ll soon be hooked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sajid78 Posted November 8, 2008 Author Share Posted November 8, 2008 Just finished Of Mice and Men, loved it! Glad I chose to read it 1st, as its a nice and short and keeps you gripped through the characters. Hopefully I can maintain my interest and enthusiasm for the next book (To Kill a Mockingbird), with it being more than 3 times in length compared Of Mice and Men, it could the litmus test. I'll let you know how I get on...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 Great that your first choice was one you loved! Hope your next one lives up to your expectations and as pip says you get hooked!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Library Nook Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 I hope you enjoy To Kill a Mockingbird, I read it for the first time recently and was engrossed with it. I haven't read Of Mice and Men so you have inspired me to read it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sajid78 Posted November 14, 2008 Author Share Posted November 14, 2008 Just finished To Kill a Mockingbird, and all I can say is WOW! I know now, why it has received such worldwide acclaim, I only hope I get half as much pleasure from the other books I read in the future. Not sure if I should stick to my original plan of reading Sharpe's Tiger (Bernard Cornwell), or whether I should change my mind and read another classic. For some reason, I think the Sharpe book may be a tougher read than the first 2 books I read.........any advice welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted November 14, 2008 Share Posted November 14, 2008 Welcome to the gang Sajid78, the football book I could think of was 'Fever Pitch' by Nick Hornby, which has been mentioned, 'High Fidelity', another one by Nick Hornby. Oh you could try 'The Wind Up Bird Chronicle' by Haruki Murakami, I am mentioning it because I loved it and I am on a mission to inflict it on everyone else! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted November 14, 2008 Share Posted November 14, 2008 Welcome to the gang Sajid78, the football book I could think of was 'Fever Pitch' by Nick Hornby, which has been mentioned, 'High Fidelity', another one by Nick Hornby. Both excellent books - Fever Pitch is a master class in obsession, High Fidelity in being completely self-absorbed! Oh you could try 'The Wind Up Bird Chronicle' by Haruki Murakami, I am mentioning it because I loved it and I am on a mission to inflict it on everyone else! I've read a couple of Murakami's books this year (After Dark and Sputnik Sweetheart) and have really enjoyed them. I also have South of the Boarder and Norwegian Wood in my "to-read" pile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted November 14, 2008 Share Posted November 14, 2008 Oh you could try 'The Wind Up Bird Chronicle' by Haruki Murakami, I am mentioning it because I loved it and I am on a mission to inflict it on everyone else! I read that several years ago. It was very surreal and I haven't tried anything else by him since! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted November 14, 2008 Share Posted November 14, 2008 I love Murukami, but it's not really stuff that's easy to access, I think. Starting with Of Mice and Men, and To Kill A Mockingbird, certainly sets a high standard for the books you're reading. Both have interesting political elements to them, too, in their own ways. Moving on from them I'd still have Catch-22 on the list, but perhaps there are other avenues to explore. You might really like Broken April by Ismael Kadare, if we're moving away from the really mainstream. Partly because, Like Gyre, I want to inflict it on everyone. But also it has the same politcal/moral stuff going on, and is bleak and atmospheric and fascinating - it's Albanian, and is set amongst the backdrop of the traditional blood-feud between families in northern Albania. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.