what book you reading at the moment? (incl poll)

[ElectronicXTC]

Read comedian Ed Gamble's autobiography "Glutton" - started off quite well but soon veered into well-trodden, oft-told tales from his podcast ("Off Menu" with James Acaster)/stand-up act. Turned out to be fairly rubbish by the mid-point. A bit of a shame really, I like his comedy work. Finished it because it was easy.

Gamble's podcast with Acaster has a massive audience - I'm a little bit amazed that he got away with basically culling huge swathes of the show for an autobiography and repackaging it for, I assume, the same audience.

Picked up "Say Nothing" by Patrick Radden-Keefe yesterday. I have heard good things about it.

I never read Radden-Keefe's book "Empire Of Pain" which came recommended to me because I have already read (and raved about to anyone who would listen) Sam Quinones' "Dreamland" and also Beth Macy's "Dopesick" (and saw the TV show) which cover the same subject/territory.

I read Empire Of Pain,having read Say Nothing ny the same author.I'd definitely recommend it too if you're interested in the subject

 

[Hank Scorpio]

Empire of Pain.

Is that the Oxy tale of the Sacklers?

Crazy story.

 

[Blue Jasmin]

Empire of Pain.

Is that the Oxy tale of the Sacklers?

Crazy story.

Yeah, I read it, not as unputdownable as "Say Nothing", grim reading at times with the way they ruthlessly pursued profit at the expense of people who were at their most vulnerable.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

Yeah, I read it, not as unputdownable as "Say Nothing", grim reading at times with the way they ruthlessly pursued profit at the expense of people who were at their most vulnerable.

I got about 2/3 of the way through it and lost interest.

The New Yorker piece on the same is a cracking read.

 

[Blue Jasmin]

I got about 2/3 of the way through it and lost interest.

The New Yorker piece on the same is a cracking read.

I ploughed on to the end but by then I had succumbed to an addiction to Oxycontin myself.

 

[ElectronicXTC]

Yeah, I read it, not as unputdownable as "Say Nothing", grim reading at times with the way they ruthlessly pursued profit at the expense of people who were at their most vulnerable.

Yes,would agree with you there.The first half of Empire Of Pain was really interesting,where the history of the Sackler family was outlined in detail.I found the latter half of the book very dense,but would still recommend it

 

[Blue Jasmin]

Yes,would agree with you there.The first half of Empire Of Pain was really interesting,where the history of the Sackler family was outlined in detail.I found the latter half of the book very dense,but would still recommend it

The book could have done with being 50-80 pages shorter.

Dopesick, on the same topic, might have been a better read.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

Heres the New Yorker article from 2017.

Old news now but a hot topic at the time.

The Family That Built an Empire of Pain

The Sackler dynasty’s ruthless marketing of painkillers has generated billions of dollars—and millions of addicts.

www.newyorker.com

 

[Stromovka]

Time for something cerebral. Well, not quite. I bought this 2nd hand in a bookshop in Youghal for a fiver. The sticker on the back says 17.99 when it came out first. The most recent Jack Reacher book and I think the franchise has played itself out. The 1st few books I thought were great but now it just seems that Lee Child (and his brother) are flahing it to death. Unrealistic and many leaps of faith. Having said that, I was staying for the week in a hotel in Killarney and I enjoyed it's escapism rather than the alternative, watching TV while the rain and hail was bating off the window. I should have brought something more solid, Solzhenitsyn or something light.

A 6/10 for entertainment. Years ago I would have given a Reacher book an 8/10.

 

[Ghoti]

The Secrets of Drearcliff Grange School, Kim Newman

I read everything Kim Newman puts out. Even at his worst, he's good. The Secrets of Drearcliff Grange School is Harry Potteresque, but I have no idea who its intended audience is. The language is far too advanced even for young adults. It's set in a girls' school in an alternate 1950s in which certain people have superpowers like flight and super speed. I like it, and sometimes I like it a lot. It's charming and every page is peppered with interesting prose and fresh ways of presenting well-worn imagery. There's a sequel, and I'll be reading that too.