blonde poker forum

Here is the idea .. (from comments on Red Dogs diary)

We start posting book titles on this thread and in a weeks time, we have a poll from the selections and the book that gets the most votes will be the one we read .. at the end of the reading period (I suggest a fortnight, some may like longer) we then have a general chin wag regarding the book we have all read and compare notes.

you may post thoughts and comments during the reading period, but must not post spoilers.

If you are up for it then all you really need to do is either post on this thread to say so, and if possible, give a book to add to the list.

Books can be fiction or non fiction ... its our book club so we can make up our own rules.


who is up for it ?

Could be fun

HoH first book?

I am up for this and my suggestion is Stasiland by Anna Funder

sounds interesting

sounds like a good idea and I'd be up for it.  Rather than have a poll on which book to read though, I think it might be an idea if everyone who is interested nominates one book, and the book for each fortnight is chosen at random from the suggestions - one of the good things about book clubs is that you get to read books you might otherwise have never been interested in or picked up - having a poll might negate that a bit.

Cheers for organising by the way Kev.

my suggestion is Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder (a novel about the history of philosophy)

How about Playboy August edition

It would help if when giving your suggestion, you give a one line description ... Stasiland by Anna Funder ( a story about life behind the berlin wall.)  I did that one for ya Sov ;)

already read it

obv stole the idea from the guardian!

Thanks Kev!!

I'm up for it.

Is this one fact or fiction?

http://talk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?50@@.77476454

I'm in my first choice is " 7 years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer. I have a 1950 first edition of this I have never got around to reading, this would be a good excuse to read it now.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seven-Years-Tibet-Paladin-Books/dp/0586087079

The story of Henrich Harrer's escape from the british at the start of the war and his trek across the Himilaya's to lhasa the Holy city of Tibet, there he meets the Dalai lama and teaches him in the way of the west.

Ipromise my next choice will be more mainstream

stop editing your post!!!  lol

I'm in... I suggest we start with Elizabeth Fritzls diary.

kev unusually went more than 7 lines in his post so i dont really know what the thread is a about, something about books.

I only read razzle but i would like it noted that its racialistic to disallow me from participating in this thread as a result of that.

I'm in too, though I can see the arguments over who gets the book first, already.

Incase people aren't interested in the 7 yrs book i nominate "Young Stalin" The background to what made the man a monster. Born in poverty, a poet, trainee priest, and fanatical revolutionary.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/product/0753823799/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt/203-7416602-7647967?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

sigh i could be here all night suggesting books I want to read.

I think it would work best if there were more than 1 book amongst the club members tbh

For a non-war/history type booky thing, I suggest Breathe by Tim Winton

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Breath-Tim-Winton/dp/0330455710/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I531FDXUYSO1G&colid=2UBRK6G9CKFFT

...sigh

http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/product/0091912407/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt/026-4590290-7062814?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Girl with a one track mind.


I have read and re-read this one just incase I have missed a line out. Amazingly most of the guys at work have thier name down to borrow it.

rotflmfao

This is a great book!  Shame she didn't manage to keep her identity secret though...bet that was a hard one to face at work.

was that a spoiler?

No.  It's basically a diary of a single women living in London in her thirties with a very high sex drive, but it's a true story.  She kept a blog online for ages and it got so popular she decided to write a book covering one year.  She worked as a freelance camera woman in real life working on some of the big films.  Eventally people found out it was her and she had journalists camped outside her front door for days...

(http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd322/sovietsong1983/spoiler.jpg)

This was mentioned on 5 Live the other day briefly I think during one of their topics of the day.

Great idea, I think a vote on a short list of 2 or 3 for each month may work. I'll suggest Hard Times by Charles Dickens, I need to catch up on the classics.

It could be described as a bit of a chick flick really, but it's very honest and for what it is it's quite insightful too.  Plus I'm sure you blokes won't object to the frequent detailed sex scenes! ;)

Great shout, we are going to be spoiled for choice.

Lets just say she lives life to the full and quite rightly so. She has no inhabitions.

I'm definitely up for this. and my first recommendation is going to be "The Stand" by Stephen King.

Lol, beat me to it.  Another great book.  Sure a few people will have read it/heard of it but basically it's about a "super flu" bug that gets accidentally released into the American population.  Most of the country aren't immune to it and die, and the rest start to have these mysterious dreams...One of the ultimate good vs evil stories IMHO.

Liking this thread but don't seem to have the time to read as much since I started playing poker, as well as running a small business. Bloody work gets in the way of poker as it is.

Still one of my favourite books is " To Kill a Mocking Bird" by Harper Lee. A pulitzer prize winner in it's day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Kill_a_Mockingbird

It's like Richard and Judy without the alcoholism and repressed insecurity

My nomination.

http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/printed-books/red-dog-louis-de-bernieres/

or with it depending on who posts ;)

put me down as a definite
























































no ;)

never been  much of a reader, but good luck with it, sounds fun.

Im sure quite a few have read it, but with the film coming out soon, I would suggest Angels & Demons...

A great read..

The Stand is a top choice, but it's a bit too long for a book club read imo

Angels and Demons is a bit too bang bang bang event event event event twist bang bang bang, oh look over there a bee, bang bang hoozah to warrant any serious discussion. The good about it is that it's readily available. The world went Dan Brown mad and there's plenty copies floating about. At least one of his four books can be bought for 50p in pretty much every charity shop around the country.

That should be a factor IMO. We'll pick something that has been out or a while that people can buy as a second hand paperback if they wish, or get it from the library.

I'm going to nominate Anthony Burgess and A Clockwork Orange.

Good choice, I'd probably vote for this one tbh.

if you all pick something i'll read it, get on with it though

would it not be better to pick something that hasnt been seen at the cinema or on telly dozens of times though ?

Kev, the idea is to read the book, not to cheat and watch the film instead!


Edit.... Hmmm. It's getting late, as I guess that's what you were saying.

Sex and violence is a must.

See, that's why I won't be suggesting any books, as I (mainly) like the kind that give you nightmares and make you want to sleep with the light on. I don't think they would be much of a hit lol.

I'll nominate Past Imperfect by John matthews

If your lazy and cba to read then why dont you download the audiobook version on i-tunes??

Are we about ready for a poll. We have plenty of books to go at!?

i have a suggestion:  a million little pieces by james frey

a quick sum up i took from a review:

James Frey wakes up on a plane, with no memory of the preceding two weeks. His face is cut and his body is covered with bruises. He has no wallet and no idea of his destination. He has abused alcohol and every drug he can lay his hands on for a decade - and he is aged only twenty-three. What happens next is one of the most powerful and extreme, and honest, stories ever told. His family takes him to a rehabilitation centre. And James Frey starts his perilous journey back to the world of the drug and alcohol-free living. His lack of self-pity gives him an unflinching, often searing honesty. "A Million Little Pieces" is an uncommonly genuine account of a life destroyed and a life reconstructed. It is also the introduction of a bold and talented literary voice.

A stunning book and one of the best addiction related books I have ever read.
I was slightly dissapointed when it was announced it was fictional'ish - but well worth a read.

There was a piece about him and this book in the Times last week. He was booed by the Oprah audience through the commercial break, it has been Oprahs book of the week and made him a multi millionaire overnight.

Sounds good though even if it is embellished.

Are we looking at just fiction, a mixture of factual and fiction, or should we have a list of 5-6 book from different genres (e.g. fiction, classics, latest fiction, popular science, biographical, etc.).

Then people can choose a book from those suggested based on what they'd like to read.

Just an idea, otherwise I can't see us actually making a decision on one book that lots of people want to read.

:dontask:

Strange as it may seem I enjoy reading and do get through a few books -- most of them in the light fiction department. I tend to find an author and read all their books (Wilbur Smith at the mo)

However I would like to try any suggestions and this club would be an outlet to get me to explore a wider range of books.

Suggestions ummmmm

Fiction: Wilbur Smith -- Hungry as the Sea - Tale of a man robbed of his wife and ousted from his huge shipping empire, fights back etc etc -- mindless hero stuff but I think well written desciptively

Non Fiction: The Truth about ESP by Hans Holzer (what it is, how it works, & how do you develop it)

Non Fiction: The Truth about ESP by Hans Holzer (what it is, how it works, & how do you develop it)

I knew you were going to nominate that one.

Infidel - Ayaan Hirsi Ali. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Infidel-Ayaan-Hirsi-Ali/dp/1416526242)

An autobiographical work that tells "the extraordinary story of a woman born into a family of desert nomads, circumcised as a child, educated by radical imams in Kenya and Saudi Arabia, taught to believe that if she uncovered her hair, terrible tragedies would ensue. It's a story that, with a few different twists, really could have led to a wretched life and a lonely death, as her grandmother warned. But instead, Hirsi Ali escaped -- and transformed herself into an internationally renowned spokeswoman for the rights of Muslim women."

Non-Fiction- Ishmael Beah- "A long way gone-memoirs of a boy soldier" author tells his story of getting roped in and brainwashed into having a lust for killing as a boy soldier in sierra Leone- pretty gruesome, heartbreaking stuff but very interesting and very good

fiction ftw

non-fiction = school

This is a nifty site for compiling book lists easily.

http://www.22books.com

www.librarything.com ftw

i didnt read it but there was a documentary on ch4 about an American Nazi dude that wrote a book about abortion, lets start with that

i cant stand americans

lol, yeah that was problem for me too

My 1st one would be in cold blood by truman capote, i started reading it then lost it, found it then got bored. which is what i normally do with books. Allegedly the book Mark Chapman was reading when he killed John Lennon

disagree-> Non fiction = stories more interesting than fiction

All the non fiction books being listed here sound bloody miserable!

The beach is a good book, always gets my travelling itch going when i read it. shit film

 ;bump;

[ ] am surprised

a whole book in 2 weeks can we make it a little longer like 2 years

RE-  ;bump;

its a tough one .. I think it may be a case of i pick the first book, and then draw names out of the hat to see who chooses the one after ?

I am happy with that,

(http://www.autismcoach.com/Mr_Tickle.jpg)

i would recommend American Tabloid and The Cold Six Thousand by james ellroy.

and in six months when you have finished them, you can get back to me :)


i would not recommend the latest peter robinson "all the colours of darkness" which is pretty rubbish.

Mr. Tickle is quite a book

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=10996.msg233545#msg233545

 ;bump;

now reading orwells Animal Farm whilst waiting for kev to sort this out

I've just reached page 218 of a superb inter-active story of a Gipsy Boy and his poker playing friends and wondered if this idea died before it's time?

Pretty much died before it started ... we couldnt decide on a starting book LOL

The usual routine is for one person from the group to be chosen at random and then everyone reads their choice.

Once that's finished and discussed you choose a new chooser at random from those who read the first book.

That way the members get to read things they might otherwise not have read.

right as Kev started it he gets to choose the book if people choose to follow and read it then we can start it up if not Kev has expanded his Knowledge.

Pick a book Kev you mug

OK, will nip into town tomorrow and buy a book ... will post it here tomorrow afternoon

Top shelf FTW