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Brock Manson
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Halfway through A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon.

 

I loved the curious Incident of the dog in the night time (like most). It was a disabled childs point of view of the world so the ridiculously short chapters and cutesy style fit perfectly and was a pleasure. He doesn't seem to have changed that style for this book at all though, even though it's from the point of view of four seperate grown people. I'm still enjoying it immensely like, just a bit sad he seems to be a one trick pony.

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Guest alex
Halfway through A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon.

 

I loved the curious Incident of the dog in the night time (like most). It was a disabled childs point of view of the world so the ridiculously short chapters and cutesy style fit perfectly and was a pleasure. He doesn't seem to have changed that style for this book at all though, even though it's from the point of view of four seperate grown people. I'm still enjoying it immensely like, just a bit sad he seems to be a one trick pony.

I thought the first one was canny good but not as amazing as some seemed to think. And having read your assessment I think I'll give the second one a miss (didn't really fancy it anyway).

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  • 3 weeks later...

Farewell but not goodbye - SBR

I've read a dozen or so football biographies and I'm amazed how well written Bobby's book is.

Yes he probably had a good editor but his ability to tell a story, entertain and keep it concise is brillant.

 

Does anyone know if it was ghost written? If so by who?

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Anyone read any of Kurt Vonnegut's stuff?

Any good?

Fucking brilliant. I'd start with Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse 5 and The Sirens of Titan. In no particular order.

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Anyone read any of Kurt Vonnegut's stuff?

Any good?

Fucking brilliant. I'd start with Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse 5 and The Sirens of Titan. In no particular order.

 

Thought you might be good for that answer. Where is he closer to P. Dicks or Salanger? Or another world?

Have you seen this alex? http://www.vonnegut.com/

We are just about to move into our new house and I'm tempted by some of the prints.

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Anyone read any of Kurt Vonnegut's stuff?

Any good?

Fucking brilliant. I'd start with Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse 5 and The Sirens of Titan. In no particular order.

 

Thought you might be good for that answer. Where is he closer to P. Dicks or Salanger? Or another world?

Have you seen this alex? http://www.vonnegut.com/

We are just about to move into our new house and I'm tempted by some of the prints.

Nice site.

And he's different to anyone else really. His stuff is sci-fi based but it's all about fate and the sort of hopeless ridiculousness of it all. It's very philosophical but at the same time it has a levity which makes it very readable. Slaughterhouse 5 is a bit different to his other stuff as it draws on his own experiences of surviving the carpet-bombing of Dresden as a prisoner of war. It still contains sci-fi elements though.

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Anyone read any of Kurt Vonnegut's stuff?

Any good?

Fucking brilliant. I'd start with Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse 5 and The Sirens of Titan. In no particular order.

 

Yes all good.

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The Kite Runner was quality btw.

 

It's magic. Just done with The Dice Man, really really enjoyed it, excellent book. Don't know where to go now, might try some Machiavelli.

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The Kite Runner was quality btw.

 

It's magic. Just done with The Dice Man, really really enjoyed it, excellent book. Don't know where to go now, might try some Machiavelli.

Aye, The Dice Man is class. Thanks for the recommendation on The Kite Runner btw.

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The Kite Runner was quality btw.

 

It's magic. Just done with The Dice Man, really really enjoyed it, excellent book. Don't know where to go now, might try some Machiavelli.

Aye, The Dice Man is class. Thanks for the recommendation on The Kite Runner btw.

No trouble. Only really got in to reading a couple of years back and playing catch up on all the stuff I "should" have read at the moment, so don't expect any more recommendations for a good while yet!

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Jimbo

 

Looks like The Damned United may get turned into a film :icon_lol:

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7465076.stm

 

 

Bringing Big 'Ead to the big screen

 

By Mark Simpson

 

BBC North of England correspondent

 

 

He was known as "Old Big 'Ead", so Brian Clough would not have been surprised to know a film is being made about him.

 

But fans of the late, great football manager might want to watch the film, The Damned United, from behind a sofa.

 

Rather than focusing on his remarkable victories in two European Cup finals with Nottingham Forest, the movie concentrates on the low point of his career, his 44-day nightmare as Leeds United boss.

 

With some fruity language and lots of finger-jabbing, Clough is portrayed as a flawed genius.

 

Back in the 1970s, he himself struggled to find any faults with his own ability.

 

He once said: "Rome wasn't built in a day... but I wasn't on that particular job".

 

The actor given the near-impossible task of capturing Clough in looks and voice is Michael Sheen, better known for his role as Tony Blair in the film The Queen.

 

"Each character is unique," says Sheen during a break from filming at Leeds United's Elland Road ground.

 

"This is my two passions coming together. I used to play a lot of football when I was younger. I possibly could have had a career in it.

 

"Then I got to about 14, met girls, you know, started drinking, smoking and all that kind of thing and then got into acting."

 

The film, based on the book by David Peace, is costing £5m and is due to be released in cinemas next year.

 

More than £20,000 of that money has already gone into turning the concrete car park at Elland Road into a grass pitch to try to recreate the 1970s training facilities.

 

Filming has already taken place at Chesterfield's Saltergate ground, which was painted dark green and made to look like the old Baseball Ground, where Derby County played when Clough was their successful manager.

 

It all turned sour for Cloughie when he arrived at Leeds in the summer of 1974. Appointed for his brilliance, he was undone by his arrogance and his abrasive approach to a team of thin-skinned superstars who had just won the league.

 

The previous manager, Don Revie, was a winner, but the team did not have the panache Clough wanted. He tried to change the style and take on the stars, with disastrous consequences.

 

The film's producer Andy Harries - the drama controller behind the hit TV series Cold Feet - describes the movie's portrayal of Clough as "affectionate and amusing".

 

He says: "We're not going to sell it as a comedy, but it is a funny film because Clough was such a character.

 

 

"But it is dark in parts. I don't think the film is anything like as dark as the book.

 

"The book is told through Clough's own mind, the film doesn't do that at all. The film tells the story in a much more straight, narrative way."

 

Even so, he admits that Clough sometimes appears to be approaching lunacy.

 

"There are some pretty mad scenes, which are also very funny scenes," he says.

 

Others actors involved include Jim Broadbent as Derby chairman Sam Longson, Timothy Spall as Clough's assistant Peter Taylor and Colm Meaney as Don Revie.

 

Perhaps the biggest challenge facing the movie-makers is making it watchable for anyone under 40 who isn't a football fan and has never heard of Brian Clough.

 

The quirky title - The Damned United - may attract wider interest.

 

Mind you, there were not many alternatives.

 

There has, of course, already been a Life of Brian.

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  • 1 month later...

Dick's Do androids dream of electric sheep?

Vonnegut's Slaughter house 5

Just started Cat's cradle after an aborted attempt to read Kazuo Ishiguro's An artist of the floating world.

It's one of those books that needs more than just a passing read to get through it.

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