Books for summer

[billybathgate]

Summer (presuming we have one this year!) is just about the only time I ever read. I have no books unread at the moment, and am currently resorting to re-reading old Irvine Welsh books.

I need help. Particularly with regards to what books I should get. One I definitely need to purchase is Aileen Wounos - Monster: My True Story, but that's not published till the end of August.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

[mikemk]

Well I've just taken novels by Alan Hollinghurst, Peter Ackroyd and John Irving away - lightish reading but good.

[monsta]

Sorry to lower the tone but as a summer read, the book 'Being Jordan' by the fabulous Katie Price is simply wonderful. I enjoyed the descriptions of what lingerie she was wearing on each date she went on and how big famous people's penises were.

10 out of 10.

[billybathgate]

monsta said:

Sorry to lower the tone but as a summer read, the book 'Being Jordan' by the fabulous Katie Price is simply wonderful. I enjoyed the descriptions of what lingerie she was wearing on each date she went on and how big famous people's penises were.

10 out of 10.

Actually, that could be a fun book to read on the way to work. Especially if it mentions penises/penii.

[mikemk]

billybathgate said:

Actually, that could be a fun book to read on the way to work. Especially if it mentions penises/penii.

Wait for the audio cassette to come out, even better!

[LordOfTheNight]

penes? like crisis, crises?

I've always been quite partial to a bit of Stephen Fry's oevre - it's smut, but with a smug pseudo-intellectual twist of the mouth, and downright hilarious. I'd suggest 'The Hippopotamus'. But be warned, he does have tendency to end a bit craply, like he just couldn't be bothered with the effort of finding a truly satisfying conclusion.

[billybathgate]

LordOfTheNight said:

penes? like crisis, crises?

I've always been quite partial to a bit of Stephen Fry's oevre - it's smut, but with a smug pseudo-intellectual twist of the mouth, and downright hilarious. I'd suggest 'The Hippopotamus'. But be warned, he does have tendency to end a bit craply, like he just couldn't be bothered with the effort of finding a truly satisfying conclusion.

And with 2nd hand copies starting at 1p over at amazon, I think I have my first summer book!

Hurrah!

[billybathgate]

MikeMK said:

Wait for the audio cassette to come out, even better!

Do you think Katie/Jordan would be able to read an entire book outloud herself?

Maybe they would get Denise (the agony aunt) from This Morning to record it instead.

[mikemk]

billybathgate said:

Do you think Katie/Jordan would be able to read an entire book outloud herself?

Maybe they would get Denise (the agony aunt) from This Morning to record it instead.

She'd be good, or perhaps one of the owners of the organs in question.

[monsta]

I was everso dubious about whether Katie actually wrote the book but if it was done by a ghost writer they are extremely talented. It captures her lack of grammer completely and no word is over 2 syllables. Its a wonderful read. She even signed my copy.

[zaffra]

Someone mentioned it on the 3 for 2 thing but 'The Cutting Room' by Louise Welsh is an excellent book, very noir, set in Glasgow, the lead character is gay and likes rough sex.

I hope you've already read Douglas Couplands' back cateloge - Microserfs is my favourite, but I love all his novels - full of pop culture references.

Again most of Chuck Palahniuk is a great pulpy read, I loved Lullaby.

Brett Easton Ellis is always good for a laugh - Glamorama name drops just about everybody in a late nineties kinda style - so spare me! It's very shallow and sarcastic.

I always think a John Irving novel is good for the holidays, he has written loads, They are sentimental but I particularly like 'A Prayer For Owen Meany' and 'The Hotel New Hampshire'.

+ Anything by Philip K Dick for a bit of Sci-Fi

Go read

[billybathgate]

zaffra said:

Someone mentioned it on the 3 for 2 thing but 'The Cutting Room' by Louise Welsh is an excellent book, very noir, set in Glasgow, the lead character is gay and likes rough sex.

Now that sounds my kinda book! And 3 for 2 makes it even more appealing to my wallet Mastercard.

I hope you've already read Douglas Couplands' back cateloge - Microserfs is my favourite, but I love all his novels - full of pop culture references.

I have read Microserfs. Is Hey Nostradamus! as good?

And is Mr Dick responsible for Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? in which case I think I'd probably like his other tomes.

[zaffra]

Hey Nostradamus! like most of Couplands more recent novels is short and sweet (or bitter) - It seems very shallow or perhaps deep, 'god is no where - god is now here' It's sort of about wanting to believe.

Yes Philip K wrote the story that was made into Bladerunner. Lots of his work has similar ideas about reality, and I think he was religious but don't let that put you off. Favourites include A Scanner Darkly about an instantly addictive mind bending killer drug and Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said about a pop idol who is suddenly a nobody. They're pulp, but they make you think.

[smellslikesomeghost]

I thought that Hey Nostradamus was a real return to form. I found it beautiful; god, nature, life, all in his inimitable, deceptively easy reading style. not a word wasted.

I'd recommend David Sedaris "Dress your family in corduroy and denim." It's a rare thing, an actual laugh out loud read. Small family anecdotes revealing much of humanity written by a very clever, witty and perceptive gay man.

[elmsyrup]

I would recommend Nigella's How To Eat except for the fact it's so heavy it's hard to even read, uncomfortable to hold, etc.

[mikemk]

zaffra said:

I always think a John Irving novel is good for the holidays, he has written loads, They are sentimental but I particularly like 'A Prayer For Owen Meany' and 'The Hotel New Hampshire'.



Go read

Both great books - my favourites too. And the film of Hotel New Hampshire is the only video I have ever rewound and watched again immediately.

[klee]

The Cutting Room is great, but I'd never call it a summer book in a million years. A bummer book perhaps - boom boom. Alan Hollinghurst's first two novels (The Swimming Pool Library and The Folding Star) are good, though the latter, with its thirty something narrator obsessing over his 17 yr old pupil can be a tad disturbing at times.

Anne Tyler's stuff is good for a summer read - gentle and thoughtful with just the right amount of bite. Of course you could always go the other way entirely and try Raymond Chandler. The Philip Marlowe novels are fabulous.

[zaffra]

I found Alan Hollinghurst's novels a bit stuffy.

Other bummer reading I'd suggest is 'Call Me' by PP Hartnett there's a lot of sex in it, but also some interesting ideas. About an obsessive guy who places fictional small ads in the lonely hearts.

'I Want To Fuck You' also PP Hartnett is a lot better than the title suggests a story told from several angles about the residents of a Tokyo apartment block, but people give you funny looks when they see the title on the cover.

He also wrote a novel called 'Sixteen' which I thought was awful, about a record exec peadophile who discovers two young boys at the swimming pool and turns them into pop stars.

'The Heart Is Decitful Above All Things' and 'Sarah' by JT Leroy are both rather good, bizzare, funny and beautifully written and all the more powerful for their autobiographical content.

[ladytrol]

If you like Irvine Welsh, you might want to check out Brass by Helen Walsh. It's been called "Trainspotting in Liverpool", but that doesn't really do it justice. Read a bit here, why don't you: www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3562-1049598,00.html

An ace, ace book indeed.

[elmsyrup]

Ooh, I know good books for summer- Caro Fraser's stuff. They're all about barristers. Fabulously gripping, and sort of low-brow while being intelligent and not insulting the reader. If you see what I mean. Perfect for the lazing around.

[jamie]

elmsyrup said:

Ooh, I know good books for summer- Caro Fraser's stuff. They're all about barristers. Fabulously gripping, and sort of low-brow while being intelligent and not insulting the reader. If you see what I mean. Perfect for the lazing around.

I can't remember them being that intelligent. I think I enjoyed them though.

I like the isabel allende books. They are amazing. Read daughter of fortune. It's amazingly well-written and has so much nice authentic detail that it's great. They are all translated from the spanish but you get the feeling that she really knows what she's talking about.

[mikemk]

Not sure if anyone is still after holiday reading, but I've just remembered Lynne Truss - very funny, and of course beautifully spelled and punctuated.
If you like crime, try Barbara Nadel - set in Istanbul, great location and detective, and I used to work with Barbara (well done, Barbara, you deserve the success).

[Deleted]

I would suggest 'The Little White Car' by Danuta de Rhodes (basically, Dan Rhodes using a naff pen name). It's a very strange character comedy about a girl who's convinced that she caused Princess Diana's car crash, so she and her best friend set about dismantling her car. The characters are brilliantly drawn and the novel often wanders off into little set-pieces of their past lives, without it ever getting too boring or convoluted. Basically, it makes for a good "summer read".

Also I recommend 'The Last Party' by John Harris, but that is because it is summer and I have just read it and it is very, very good.

[Mike]

I'm reading the 5th Harry Potter book at long last. When I finish it, probably sometime in October, I'll start on one of the Christopher Brookmyre ones I got in the HMV sale. Ever since I read The Sacred Art Of Stealing, it's been my mission to read all his stuff. Sharp enough to cut frozen bread with, and funny as hell. I urge you to investigate.

[Bridgey]

I've just finished "Running with Scissors" and the new Andrew Collins novel about his student experiences.

It just sickens me how my future student life will never be as dramatic.

Bridgey xxx