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A Good Read: Book Suggestions & Recommendations

Somewhere on this thread got to hear about Richard Freeman's 'Green, Unpleasant Land- Eighteen Tales of British Horror'. Just finished it....don't generally read horror fiction but really got into this collection. Rationed my reading of them as wanted the book to last as long as possible. Thank you to whoever recommended it.
 
Ghosts of the Tsumani A deeply Fortean book about the 2011 earthquake.

https://www.penguin.co.nz/books/ghosts-of-the-tsunami-9781784704889

As someone who has a professional interest in stories of emergency events gone wrong, this is completely different.

It's about the Tsumani. It's a hard read because of the death of the children.

This book not only talks about the nuances of the Japanese culture but illustrates what a deeply spiritual yet technocratic and obedient country this is..

People became possessed, ghosts were an everyday occurrence. The writer doesn't treat any of it as "woohoo".

It isn't a Mental Health issue as we would judge in the west.

It' just how enormous this event was.

Anyone who lives in the ring of fire. 35m high waves? No one can survive that.


What he talks about does not even resonate with us in the West. We don't have this belief - this level of standards of behavior. (that's such a poor term as I no idea what that means).

I can explain some of the paranormal events but not all, everyone should listen to this or read it if you are a Fortean.

The writer is a British Journalist who fell in love with Japan - an astonishing book. 10/10.

This book should be read by everyone.
 
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This book is the same age as me, originally published in 1976.

This 1977 paperback edition has been on my shelves for as long as I can remember, I think I picked it up at a jumble sale or something when I was a kid.

I've finally got round to reading it!

I'm about a third of the way in and really enjoying it so far. It's dedicated to HG Wells and nowadays would probably be called a 'reboot'; it borrows pretty liberally from the great writer.

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I read The River Kings by Cat Jarman about the vikings and trading with the East and i found it fascinating. I don’t normally spend more than a tenner on a kindle book because they’re, you know, not real, but well worth it
 
the terror by Dan Simmons, it's good but I think it would have been just as good, if not better, with just a straightforward account of the Franklin expedition, it's a horrific tale without added supernatural elements.

It loses its way about 3/4 of the way through. His Hyperion books are better.
 
Attack Surface by Cory Doctrow. It's main character, Masha, featured in a lesser role in Little Brother and Homeland. Shes a security/observation technology expert, recruited by DHS at age 17, then went on to work as a contractor through multi-national companies. This novel gives her back story and throws new light on previous events. It's close enough to what's happening in the real world, maybe slightly in the future. But it's really an alternate hstory, because the Bay Bridge was blown up maybe 10 yeas ago. As well as working for repressive regimes, Masha helps dissident groups. This dichotomy leads to problems ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_Doctorow
 
For fans of the Flannan Isles Lighthouse disappearance, the recently published Emma Stonex novel, The Lamplighters, is a fantastic, fictional reimagining of the case.

The disappearance central to the novel takes place in the 1970s, with the narrative jumping back and forth between the year of the vanishing and present day, in which a journalist with a Fortean bent examines the case.
 
Still working my way through a mass of "Golden Age" murder mysteries.

Can recommend for those loving the obscure in the cosy detective mystery genre - and pretty good stories too:

Inspector Littlejohn series by George Bellairs. (Many episodes set in Isle of Man or southern France)
Anthony Bathurst series by Bryan Flynn (A bit arch but seriously unexpected twists)
Dora Myrl series (only 3 books) by M McDonell Bodkin (Lady Detective - should have been more but he married her off)
Inspector Felix series by R. A. Bentley (fairly modern author, period settings).
Inspector Appleby series by Michael Innes (Quirky and sometimes very funny)
 
The only Clive Barker I've read before is Cabal... OK, but forgettable.
 
For fans of the Flannan Isles Lighthouse disappearance, the recently published Emma Stonex novel, The Lamplighters, is a fantastic, fictional reimagining of the case.

This is excellent.

My current listen is Hyde read by James Cosmo. Gripping from the start and anything with Cosmo in has my immediate attention. Understated, insightful, building the characters and creating scenes. Also @escargot - you know your Ricky Tomlinson reaction? I have the same with James Cosmo. Purely one-sided and Mr Cosmo is blameless - all he did was come in, saying good morning and buy some books! Be still my heart! :loveyou:


Amazon link to it although I have it through Audible:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hyde/dp/B08HDN51DX
 
This is excellent.

My current listen is Hyde read by James Cosmo. Gripping from the start and anything with Cosmo in has my immediate attention. Understated, insightful, building the characters and creating scenes. Also @escargot - you know your Ricky Tomlinson reaction? I have the same with James Cosmo. Purely one-sided and Mr Cosmo is blameless - all he did was come in, saying good morning and buy some books! Be still my heart! :loveyou:


Amazon link to it although I have it through Audible:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hyde/dp/B08HDN51DX
I just watched a film (Skylines) this morning, which featured Mr Cosmo.
 
I've been re-introduced to Don Camillo - my friend bought me the series as I was reminiscing about borrowing two of them from the library as a teenager. It turns out that quite a lot of my schoolfriend also enjoyed the works of Giovanni Guareschi, though it was never something we discussed.
 
I've been re-introduced to Don Camillo - my friend bought me the series as I was reminiscing about borrowing two of them from the library as a teenager. It turns out that quite a lot of my schoolfriend also enjoyed the works of Giovanni Guareschi, though it was never something we discussed.

This fetches up for me, memories from long ago. In my late teens, I think -- at any rate, a very long time ago now ! -- I happened upon one of Guareschi's Don Camillo books. I remember rather little about it: do recall that it revolved around a brief sojourn by the priest-hero, in the Soviet Union. I forget "how come"; but definitely have the impression that it was something low-key and un-alarming -- no perilous undercover stuff to bring succour to persecuted Christians ! As I remember, all was basically light-hearted -- as the books basically are -- with Don Camillo's chief sentiment about the place, being benign bemusement. I quite enjoyed the novel -- though without becoming an instant Don Camillo devotee.

The book, however, had a several pages' "afterword" by the author -- IIRC, without any connection with Don C's Russian doings: it was non-fictional and highly serious commentary on the -- in Guareschi's mind, utterly reprehensible -- directions in which he saw society, in his country and likely the world in general, going "at the time of writing". This outburst by the guy struck me as so angry, bitter and generally misanthropic: that my reaction was, "I want nothing more to do with this miserable bugger" -- I have not looked at anything by him, since.

After half a century or so, it occurs to me to wonder whether I was perhaps over-reacting: the novels themselves show for me, fair likelihood of being an enjoyable read -- that, irrespective of the author's "prophet-of-doom-hood". Realistically, I doubt whether -- too many higher priorities ! -- I shall in fact give them another try.
 
This fetches up for me, memories from long ago. In my late teens, I think -- at any rate, a very long time ago now ! -- I happened upon one of Guareschi's Don Camillo books. I remember rather little about it: do recall that it revolved around a brief sojourn by the priest-hero, in the Soviet Union. I forget "how come"; but definitely have the impression that it was something low-key and un-alarming -- no perilous undercover stuff to bring succour to persecuted Christians ! As I remember, all was basically light-hearted -- as the books basically are -- with Don Camillo's chief sentiment about the place, being benign bemusement. I quite enjoyed the novel -- though without becoming an instant Don Camillo devotee.

The book, however, had a several pages' "afterword" by the author -- IIRC, without any connection with Don C's Russian doings: it was non-fictional and highly serious commentary on the -- in Guareschi's mind, utterly reprehensible -- directions in which he saw society, in his country and likely the world in general, going "at the time of writing". This outburst by the guy struck me as so angry, bitter and generally misanthropic: that my reaction was, "I want nothing more to do with this miserable bugger" -- I have not looked at anything by him, since.

After half a century or so, it occurs to me to wonder whether I was perhaps over-reacting: the novels themselves show for me, fair likelihood of being an enjoyable read -- that, irrespective of the author's "prophet-of-doom-hood". Realistically, I doubt whether -- too many higher priorities ! -- I shall in fact give them another try.

I loved the Don Camillo books as a teen. Might look out for them again.
 
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