en-US Sun, 06 Oct 2024 13:31:38 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 629 Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is an examination of how we live, a meditation on how to live better set around the narration of a summer motorcycle trip across America's Northwest, undertaken by a father & his young son.]]> 540 Robert M. Pirsig 0060589469 Mike 5 re-read
A very powerful novel now handing over to my Dad who started but didn’t finish this years ago.]]> 3.78 1974
author: Robert M. Pirsig
name: Mike
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1974
rating: 5
read at: 2021/06/28
date added: 2024/10/06
shelves: re-read
review:
This book was published the year before I went to Uni. There I read this during my Philosophy course. It was an interesting and thought provoking read. Now in my re-read years later it remains the same. Memories of Hume, Kant and Hegel linger from lectures. But what now strikes me is the brilliant interweaving of the simple story of a dad and his son on a motorcycle journey. And the immense sadness of the authors mental breakdown and ECT treatments. Together with the murder of his son a few months before his 23rd birthday. I couldn’t remain unfocused from this real sadness.

A very powerful novel now handing over to my Dad who started but didn’t finish this years ago.
]]> 280768 The Visitor is the UK/AUS title for Running Blind.

Sergeant Amy Callan and Lieutenant Caroline Cook have a lot in common. High-flying army career women, both are victims of sexual harassment from their superiors; both are force to resign from the service.

And now they're both dead.

Their unmarked bodies are discovered in their homes, naked, in baths filled with army-issue camouflage paint. Expert FBI psychological profilers start to hunt for a serial murderer, a smart guy with a score to settle, a loner, an army man, a ruthless vigilante known to them both.

Jack Reacher, a former US military cop, is a smart guy, a loner and a drifter, as tough as they come. He knew both victims. For Agent-in-Charge Nelson Blake and his team, he's the perfect match. They're sure only Reacher has the answers to their burning questions: how did these women die? And why?]]> 510 Lee Child 0553811886 Mike 5 re-read
This one centres on a number of women being murdered. Ending up in bath tubs of green US Army camouflage paint. Clever plot line and end twist. Reacher at his ascerbic witted best but little joint busting action.

Have the new Reacher on order but it will be the new John Connolly that arrives first]]> 3.90 2000
author: Lee Child
name: Mike
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 2022/07/17
date added: 2023/11/30
shelves: re-read
review:
Decided to have a quick re-read of a Jack Reacher early work #4 after re-reading the first ‘Killing Floor�� recently. Interesting to note how the series has evolved over the years and the joint works with his brother.

This one centres on a number of women being murdered. Ending up in bath tubs of green US Army camouflage paint. Clever plot line and end twist. Reacher at his ascerbic witted best but little joint busting action.

Have the new Reacher on order but it will be the new John Connolly that arrives first
]]> 11989
It tells the story from the point of view of a narrator of a plague sweeping the French Algerian city of Oran. The narrator remains unknown until the start of the last chapter, chapter 5 of part 5. The novel presents a snapshot of life in Oran as seen through the author's distinctive absurdist point of view.

The book tells a gripping tale of human unrelieved horror, of survival and resilience, and of the ways in which humankind confronts death, The Plague is at once a masterfully crafted novel, eloquently understated and epic in scope, and a parable of ageless moral resonance, profoundly relevant to our times. In Oran, a coastal town in North Africa, the plague begins as a series of portents, unheeded by the people. It gradually becomes an omnipresent reality, obliterating all traces of the past and driving its victims to almost unearthly extremes of suffering, madness, and compassion.

The Plague is considered an existentialist classic despite Camus' objection to the label. The novel stresses the powerlessness of the individual characters to affect their destinies. The narrative tone is similar to Kafka's, especially in The Trial, whose individual sentences potentially have multiple meanings; the material often pointedly resonating as stark allegory of phenomenal consciousness and the human condition.]]> 308 Albert Camus Mike 5 re-read 4.05 1947
author: Albert Camus
name: Mike
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1947
rating: 5
read at: 2021/07/04
date added: 2023/09/18
shelves: re-read
review:
Even more poignant re-reading during Covid times. The story of the rats in Oran coming out of their holes to die before the plague hits is told superbly by the narrator ( who we come to know in last part of the book). Read it as an Absurdist or Existential treatise, or just how in the face of life changing events people pull together.
]]> 56030 An extraordinary work of fiction, from one of the world's most exceptional writers.

A journalist visits an elderly painter and becomes intrigued by his young female companions. Four years' worth of book research is set on fire in front of a writer. A successful MP disappears without a trace.

Written with stylistic innovation, this sequence of novellas exploring the nature of art echoes the themes and preoccupations of Fowles' earlier work and cements his position as a master storyteller.]]> 304 John Fowles 0099480514 Mike 5 re-read
‘Poor Koko�� is a great story of a writer whose home is broken into by a young thug who burns the writers accumulated manuscripts in front of him.

‘The Enigma�� is a story of a Tory MP’s disappearance and a Policeman’s investigation - it is never solved.

The final story - ‘The Cloud�� - is very mysterious. What appears to be a simple picnic is very much more than this.

I do enjoy reading this author and even re-reading him after all these years. A rich and deeply profound writing style. I find his style and connection to France reminds me of Sebastian Faulks. Another great writer.]]> 3.72 1974
author: John Fowles
name: Mike
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1974
rating: 5
read at: 2022/11/29
date added: 2022/11/29
shelves: re-read
review:
Another re-read of a book read years ago at University after re-reading the Magus. The Ebony Tower is a novella consisting of 5 short stories and a personal reflection by the author. The first story - The Ebony Tower - is very Magus like. A young Abstract painter visits an older Master at his house in France to interview him. He meets two young muse like girls - the Mouse and the Freak who have a strange relationship with the older man. I remember the film version of this story also. The second story Eliduc starts with a personal statement from the author followed by his translation of a Celtic story of again a man or Knight and two women.

‘Poor Koko�� is a great story of a writer whose home is broken into by a young thug who burns the writers accumulated manuscripts in front of him.

‘The Enigma�� is a story of a Tory MP’s disappearance and a Policeman’s investigation - it is never solved.

The final story - ‘The Cloud�� - is very mysterious. What appears to be a simple picnic is very much more than this.

I do enjoy reading this author and even re-reading him after all these years. A rich and deeply profound writing style. I find his style and connection to France reminds me of Sebastian Faulks. Another great writer.
]]> 10034 The Age of Reason is set in 1938 and tells of Mathieu, a French professor of philosophy who is obsessed with the idea of freedom. As the shadows of the Second World War draw closer -- even as his personal life is complicated by his mistress's pregnancy -- his search for a way to remain free becomes more and more intense.]]> 416 Jean-Paul Sartre 0679738959 Mike 0 re-read, currently-reading 3.98 1945
author: Jean-Paul Sartre
name: Mike
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1945
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/04/20
shelves: re-read, currently-reading
review:

]]> 78129 474 Lee Child 0515141429 Mike 5 re-read 4.08 1997
author: Lee Child
name: Mike
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1997
rating: 5
read at: 2022/03/18
date added: 2022/03/21
shelves: re-read
review:
After the excellent Amazon Jack Reacher series I had to re-read the book it was based on. The first of the Jack Reachers - Killing Floor. Probably my favourite. The violence is visceral. We start to understand who Reacher is. But there are many more books to develop the character. Cracker of a re-read
]]> 41817486 A Clockwork Orange is a frightening fable about good and evil and the meaning of human freedom. This edition includes the controversial last chapter not published in the first edition, and Burgess’s introduction, “A Clockwork Orange Resucked.”]]> 240 Anthony Burgess 0393341763 Mike 5 re-read 4.04 1962
author: Anthony Burgess
name: Mike
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1962
rating: 5
read at: 2021/11/06
date added: 2021/11/06
shelves: re-read
review:
One of the books I like to re-read often. Able to see new slants at each read. Malcolm McDowell as Alex in the film version is the image that dominates the read. Clever, ultra violent dystopian novel. Put away on the shelf for another year.
]]> 4900
A reflection on corruptive European colonialism and a journey into the nightmare psyche of one of the corrupted, Heart of Darkness is considered one of the most influential works ever written.]]> 188 Joseph Conrad 1892295490 Mike 5 re-read 3.43 1899
author: Joseph Conrad
name: Mike
average rating: 3.43
book published: 1899
rating: 5
read at: 2021/10/26
date added: 2021/10/26
shelves: re-read
review:
First read some years ago probably when the film Apocalypse Now was released. A short novella by Conrad. Very interesting storyline and sad ending. Not the ‘horror�� of the film and Kurtz being chopped up by a machete. But Marlow’s recounting of Kurtz’s last words to Kurtz’s fiancée. A great book worth re-reading
]]> 50275 Last Exit to Brooklyn, and this Penguin Modern Classics edition includes an introduction by Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting.

Described by various reviewers as hellish and obscene, Last Exit to Brooklyn tells the stories of New Yorkers who at every turn confront the worst excesses in human nature. Yet there are moments of exquisite tenderness in these troubled lives. Georgette, the transvestite who falls in love with a callous hoodlum; Tralala, the conniving prostitute who plumbs the depths of sexual degradation; and Harry, the strike leader who hides his true desires behind a boorish masculinity, are unforgettable creations. Last Exit to Brooklyn was banned by British courts in 1967, a decision that was reversed the following year with the help of a number of writers and critics including Anthony Burgess and Frank Kermode.

Hubert Selby, Jr. (1928-2004) was born in Brooklyn, New York. At the age of 15, he dropped out of school and went to sea with the merchant marines. While at sea he was diagnosed with lung disease. With no other way to make a living, he decided to try writing: 'I knew the alphabet. Maybe I could be a writer.' In 1964 he completed his first book, Last Exit to Brooklyn, which has since become a cult classic. In 1966, it was the subject of an obscenity trial in the UK. His other books include The Room, The Demon, Requiem for a Dream, The Willow Tree and Waiting Period. In 2000, Requiem for a Dream was adapted into a film starring Jared Leto and Ellen Burstyn, and directed by Darren Aronofsky.

'Last Exit to Brooklyn will explode like a rusty hellish bombshell over America, and still be eagerly read in 100 years'
Allen Ginsberg

'An urgent tickertape from hell'
Spectator]]> 290 Hubert Selby Jr. 0747549923 Mike 0 to-read, re-read 3.94 1964
author: Hubert Selby Jr.
name: Mike
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1964
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/10/21
shelves: to-read, re-read
review:

]]> 28676 American Psycho is a bleak, bitter, black comedy about a world we all recognize but do not wish to confront.]]> 399 Bret Easton Ellis 0679735771 Mike 0 re-read, currently-reading 3.82 1991
author: Bret Easton Ellis
name: Mike
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1991
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/08/01
shelves: re-read, currently-reading
review:

]]> 240006 Death in Venice is a story of obsession. Gustave von Aschenbach is a successful but aging writer who travels to Venice for a holiday. One day, at dinner, Aschenbach notices an exceptionally beautiful young boy who is staying with his family in the same hotel. Soon his days begin to revolve around seeing this boy and he is too distracted to pay attention to the ominous rumors that have begun to circulate about disease spreading through the city. Available exclusively from Vintage Classics.]]> 267 Thomas Mann 0099428652 Mike 5 re-read 3.83
author: Thomas Mann
name: Mike
average rating: 3.83
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2021/07/20
date added: 2021/07/20
shelves: re-read
review:
Death in Venice a quick re-read. The story of Aschenbach and the young boy Tadzio he spies on holiday in Venice. Mann writes in a rich prose and the sad story unfolds well. Rich imagery and the depiction of a Venice hiding a plague outbreak.
]]> 210834
Two men - a boy who grows into early manhood and an old ascetic priest, the lama - are at the center of the novel. A quest faces them both. Born in India, Kim is nevertheless white, a sahib. While he wants to play the Great Game of Imperialism, he is also spiritually bound to the lama. His aim, as he moves chameleon-like through the two cultures, is to reconcile these opposing strands, while the lama searches for redemption from the Wheel of Life.

A celebration of their friendship in a beautiful but often hostile environment, 'Kim' captures the opulence of India's exotic landscape, overlaid by the uneasy presence of the British Raj.]]> 366 Rudyard Kipling 0140183523 Mike 5 re-read 3.71 1901
author: Rudyard Kipling
name: Mike
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1901
rating: 5
read at: 2021/04/24
date added: 2021/04/24
shelves: re-read
review:
A ripping yarn. One of my dad’s favourite books. Although I had seen the old film a few times this was another book unread. I found the film following the storyline fairly well albeit that Errol Flynn ( Mahbub Ali) had less of a role in the book. The relationship between Kim and the lama is so well written. The book ending is better than the films. The story of a young Indian boy with an English soldier father working as a spy in the 1890’s is real Boys Own material. Loved it
]]> 216195 336 Stu Mittleman 0062736744 Mike 5 re-read 3.85 2000
author: Stu Mittleman
name: Mike
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 2020/07/26
date added: 2020/07/26
shelves: re-read
review:
Quickly re-read. Great book focussing on improving health by running and cutting out sugar, using low heart rate training. Based on another of my favourites Phil Maffetone. Remember my sports chiropractor using muscle testing some years ago as used in the book. Recommend to anyone wanting to improve their health and get their mojo back.
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