Recent content by MonkeyCatcher

I have only really realised after reading this thread that I don't actually pay any attention to how long books are when I decide whether I enjoy them or want to read them; short books can be just as boring. Because I like reading SFF, a majority of books that I read are probably 500+ pages, and...

In Japan, uncovering a group of cheating sumo wrestlers.

Them: Adventures with Extremists by Jon Ronson. A very refreshing take on investigative journalism, Them is an account of Ronson's experiences with a variety of "extremist" groups ranging from the KKK to Israeli fundamentalists in England. Rather than focussing on their differences and...

I would definitely say that Hunger Games is less gritty than Lord of the Flies; a lot of the deaths in HG are not actually covered in detail, but instead you are just told that they had died during the day (there is an announcement each night that shows who has died). The deaths that the...

Completely agree. I found Book 4 incredibly dull - even the audio book had a sub-par reader for this instalment. It just didn't have the same level of twists that I love about the rest of the series. And I found some of the stories became quite difficult to follow because of the addition of...

I only listen to the audio books of novels that I have already read. I have a habit of "zoning out" during audio books, and suddenly realising that I haven't actually been listening for a few minutes; this doesn't really matter too much if I already know generally where the story is headed. It...

The Game of Thrones TV adaptation is brilliant, and I was actually surprised by how closely they followed the books, raunchy scenes included. I always get a bit of a thrill when I hear characters speaking exact dialogue from the novels. That being said, the books are much better than the TV...

The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes :stars4: Really enjoyable - I'm a big fan of loose endings.

Pigeon English - Stephen Kelman A Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes The Sisters Brothers - Patrick deWitt Jamrach’s Menagerie - Carol Birch The Strain - Del Toro and Hogan

Quirkology -- Richard Wiseman :stars4: Very interesting and entertaining - Wiseman is a very funny guy. I especially enjoyed the chapter on the search for the world's funniest joke. I thought adding a list of what people found to be the most interesting facts from the book was also a nice...

The Apple: New Crimson Petal Stories -- Michel Faber Weight -- Jeanette Winterson

Dance Dance Dance -- Haruki Murakami God's Callgirl -- Carla Van Raay

Mao's Last Dancer -- Li Chiang Public Enemies -- Bryan Burroughs Tipping the Velvet -- Sarah Waters King Rat -- China Mieville After Dark -- Haruki Murakami

I loved this book when I was little. It was read to us in primary school, and I must have reread it at least 10 times. A brilliant story - I'm pretty sure it was this book that ignited my passion for learning everything I could about the Nazis.