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    Pick me a book

    Actually, slightly more seriously - I've a hankering for trying again to get back into reading, which is currently a lost art for me. And I've really no idea where to start. It's been years, really.

    I used to like it, when I was younger. and when I was young. All that "book" business and that. I'm not sure I could ever quite go back to that whole "dead tree" thing, though maybe that would help, who knows?

    So, imagine you have't read for pleasure for twenty years. Where would you start?

    #2
    "Goodreads" was suggested to me. I'm struggling with it. First up it wants to know what books I like. I've no idea. Then it wants to know what books I've read. My memory is pretty poor, but I can get to a few. Then it wants me to give them stars out of five. I don't think I can do that.

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      #3
      It isn't where you should start.

      Consider The Roads to Sata by Alan Booth, a cranky Englishman who walks the length of Japan in the 1980s. It is very easy to dip in and out of, and not that long anyway. I believe that it is quite common in UK used book shops and libraries

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        #4
        OK, TonTon. Do you, or do you think that you might, like books that combine travel, anecdote, a bit of history and local colour and dry humour in spades?

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          #5
          The Sacred Art of Stealing by Chris Brookmyre. Got me back into reading some years ago. Funny, intriguing, occasionally political, and sharp. And a 'page turner'.

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            #6
            TT, do you tend to enjoy fiction or non-fiction more?

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              #7
              Yeah. I think that's the key question.

              Anyway, for modern non-fiction I really enjoyed Bad Blood (about Theranos) recently. It's fabulously well written and researched.

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                #8
                Originally posted by johnr View Post
                The Sacred Art of Stealing by Chris Brookmyre. Got me back into reading some years ago. Funny, intriguing, occasionally political, and sharp. And a 'page turner'.
                Brookmyre is a good shout.

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by San Bernardhinault View Post
                  Yeah. I think that's the key question.

                  Anyway, for modern non-fiction I really enjoyed Bad Blood (about Theranos) recently. It's fabulously well written and researched.
                  Yes, seconded. Read it a couple of weeks ago and it was excellent.

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by TonTon View Post
                    Actually, slightly more seriously - I've a hankering for trying again to get back into reading, which is currently a lost art for me. And I've really no idea where to start. It's been years, really.

                    I used to like it, when I was younger. and when I was young. All that "book" business and that. I'm not sure I could ever quite go back to that whole "dead tree" thing, though maybe that would help, who knows?

                    So, imagine you have't read for pleasure for twenty years. Where would you start?
                    Probably something that doesn't make too many demands on your attention span - so I guess short and relatively modular? Maybe a collection of essays or short stories?

                    For non-fiction, maybe something like Sven Lindqvist which is light in difficulty though pretty heavy in terms of its themes. Something like Exterminate All The Brutes combine history, travelogue, dreamscape, memoir and literary criticism into a critique of colonialism - mostly through chapters of less than a couple of pages.

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                      #11
                      Originally posted by WOM View Post
                      TT, do you tend to enjoy fiction or non-fiction more?
                      Well now, you see, the thing is, I've read nothing for many years. So it's tricky to answer. But in a "reading for pleasure" sense, I would probably go fiction.

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by Nocturnal Submission View Post
                        OK, TonTon. Do you, or do you think that you might, like books that combine travel, anecdote, a bit of history and local colour and dry humour in spades?
                        I can imagine enjoying something like that. I can't recall having read anything that fits that bill, mind. Although I could be wrong.

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by TonTon View Post

                          I can imagine enjoying something like that. I can't recall having read anything that fits that bill, mind. Although I could be wrong.
                          Cool. In that case I'd recommend this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Attention-A...s%2C156&sr=1-1

                          Terrific fun. (It's not about shipping!)

                          For fiction, how about some classic Orwell, Keep The Aspidistra Flying or Coming Up For Air.
                          Last edited by Nocturnal Submission; 08-04-2019, 11:57.

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                            #14
                            Do/did you like science fiction? 'The Fifth Season' by NK Jemisin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._K._Jemisin) is exciting, deep and great.

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                              #15
                              Originally posted by delicatemoth View Post
                              Do/did you like science fiction? 'The Fifth Season' by NK Jemisin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._K._Jemisin) is exciting, deep and great.
                              seconded, it's great.

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                                #16
                                Originally posted by TonTon View Post
                                Well now, you see, the thing is, I've read nothing for many years. So it's tricky to answer. But in a "reading for pleasure" sense, I would probably go fiction.
                                Okay, for fiction try A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole or Boxer, Beetle by Ned Beauman.
                                For non-fiction, Into The Heart of The Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick or A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.

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                                  #17
                                  Originally posted by WOM View Post
                                  for fiction try A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
                                  Ooh, ooh, another book I've read and had forgotten, nice one!

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                                    #18
                                    Sci-fi - I read a series of books about a space person called mouse, I think, or something like that, ring a bell with anyone?

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                                      #19
                                      Originally posted by TonTon View Post

                                      Ooh, ooh, another book I've read and had forgotten, nice one!
                                      Ah, good. I'm actually looking forward to reading it again, and I very rarely re-read fiction.

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                                        #20
                                        Originally posted by TonTon View Post

                                        Ooh, ooh, another book I've read and had forgotten, nice one!
                                        So did you like it?

                                        I found Graham Greene to be very enjoyable when I first started reading for pleasure.

                                        As always I'd recommend Kurt Vonnegut.

                                        If you have Amazon Prime then you can read quite a lot of books for free. The local library is also a good place to go and register, they've got lots of books in store that you can request.

                                        Enjoy btw. I'm jealous as reading isn't possible at the moment with Ms. AE.

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                                          #21
                                          Evening TT. Damon Runyon - Guys and Dolls (and other stories)

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                                            #22
                                            Evening mafu. Ta.

                                            AE - I did enjoy it, yeah, I think so. It was a thousand years ago, and I think of myself as a different person these days. But I did enjoy it.

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                                              #23
                                              Read 'The Girl With All the Gifts'. Best book I've read in ages.

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                                                #24
                                                Originally posted by TonTon View Post
                                                Sci-fi - I read a series of books about a space person called mouse, I think, or something like that, ring a bell with anyone?
                                                The Stainless Steel Rat?

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                                                  #25
                                                  Yes!

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