2018 50 Book Challenge

[kwilkinson]



Been hanging around with Piobaire?

Not as much as I wish!

 

[clockwise]

Clockwise counting 1/50: Lasse Wierup / Matti Larsson - Swedish Mafia (a continuation) (2010)

My 51st and final book for 2011 was a Christmas present called Swedish Mafia (a survey of the criminal gangs) (2007) written by two award winning Swedish journalists who have been studying the dramatic emergence of Swedish criminal gangs since the 1990s. In a sense of dread and amazement, I have now after reading the more recently published sequel learnt all I really need to know about Hells Angels, Bandidos, Outlaws MC, Original Gangsters, Syndicate Legion, Black Cobra and lots of local gangs without fancy names. Over 700+ pages, these two books try to explain the sudden emergence since 1993 of well organized criminal gangs in Sweden, how the gangs attract 16-year-olds from "the forgotten suburbs" and how police and various social services have failed to address the challenge.

 

[Steve B.]



Clockwise counting 1/50: Lasse Wierup / Matti Larsson - Swedish Mafia (a continuation) (2010)
My 51st and final book for 2011 was a Christmas present called Swedish Mafia (a survey of the criminal gangs) (2007) written by two award winning Swedish journalists who have been studying the dramatic emergence of Swedish criminal gangs since the 1990s. In a sense of dread and amazement, I have now after reading the more recently published sequel learnt all I really need to know about Hells Angels, Bandidos, Outlaws MC, Original Gangsters, Syndicate Legion, Black Cobra and lots of local gangs without fancy names. Over 700+ pages, these two books try to explain the sudden emergence since 1993 of well organized criminal gangs in Sweden, how the gangs attract 16-year-olds from "the forgotten suburbs" and how police and various social services have failed to address the challenge.

Not as much as I wish!

I've gotten along with every Forum member I've met. Not so sure w/Pio.

 

[clockwise]

Clockwise counting 1/50: Lasse Wierup / Matti Larsson - Swedish Mafia (a continuation) (2010)
My 51st and final book for 2011 was a Christmas present called Swedish Mafia (a survey of the criminal gangs) (2007) written by two award winning Swedish journalists who have been studying the dramatic emergence of Swedish criminal gangs since the 1990s. In a sense of dread and amazement, I have now after reading the more recently published sequel learnt all I really need to know about Hells Angels, Bandidos, Outlaws MC, Original Gangsters, Syndicate Legion, Black Cobra and lots of local gangs without fancy names. Over 700+ pages, these two books try to explain the sudden emergence since 1993 of well organized criminal gangs in Sweden, how the gangs attract 16-year-olds from "the forgotten suburbs" and how police and various social services have failed to address the challenge.

Not as much as I wish!

I've gotten along with every Forum member I've met. Not so sure w/Pio.

You quoted my book "review" in the context of the man called Pio. A member of Original Gangsters or Black Cobra perchance? Or just a product of forgotten suburbs?

 

[Steve B.]



You quoted my book "review" in the context of the man called Pio. A member of Original Gangsters or Black Cobra perchance? Or just a product of forgotten suburbs?

It was in the context of kwil reading 2 wine books. Pio is Piobaire and is a very prolific poster and wine connisseur (sp?) . With unusual, strong opinions. He's one of the few people on the Forum who consistently outargues me. I hate that.

I thought I'd split the response up so the comment was under kwil's. I apologize for the confusion.

 

[Saturdays]

Just started reading the Hunger Games that will be 1/50

plan on finishing the trilogy along with the second and third in the Millenium Trilogy.

I will then finish up the 5 book Prydain Series as well.

Hopefully all of these before march/april - with a few other books in between. i think i'll be able to pick it up after tax season

Then I'll start moving on to some more intellectual books that i've been told I should read like 'the shock doctrine'

 

[dwyhajlo]

2. Crash by J.G. Ballard
The infamous novel that was the inspiration for the infamous David Cronenberg film. I suppose that this ranks quite highly in the pantheon of transgressive fiction. The transgression isn't located in just the literal aspects of the novel - the endless cataloging of disfigurement, gruesome car crashes, bodily fluids, "weird sex", etc. - but also the philosophical ideas that Ballard managed to sneak in among all the prurient material, which went beyond the limits of what most people would dare conceive. I can imagine that the idea of human activities (ALL human activities) being molded, shaped, and mediated by a technology as everyday as the automobile was fairly revolutionary at the time that this was written. It still has the capacity to shock and to make you think.

 

[Steve B.]



2. Crash by J.G. Ballard
The infamous novel that was the inspiration for the infamous David Cronenberg film. I suppose that this ranks quite highly in the pantheon of transgressive fiction. The transgression isn't located in just the literal aspects of the novel - the endless cataloging of disfigurement, gruesome car crashes, bodily fluids, "weird sex", etc. - but also the philosophical ideas that Ballard managed to sneak in among all the prurient material, which went beyond the limits of what most people would dare conceive. I can imagine that the idea of human activities (ALL human activities) being molded, shaped, and mediated by a technology as everyday as the automobile was fairly revolutionary at the time that this was written. It still has the capacity to shock and to make you think.

That was an AWESOME movie. I try not to read books where I've alrady seen the novie. Maybe this'll be the exception.

 

[Steve B.]



For this year's War and Peace (and number 50)...

 

[kwilkinson]



It was in the context of kwil reading 2 wine books. Pio is Piobaire and is a very prolific poster and wine connisseur (sp?) . With unusual, strong opinions. He's one of the few people on the Forum who consistently outargues me. I hate that.
I thought I'd split the response up so the comment was under kwil's. I apologize for the confusion.

I read wine books not because I love piob (though I do) but because i'm in the industry and need to read the books to study for my upcoming exams. Well, that and because I enjoy reading nonfiction in general over fiction. Im working on 2 books for wine now and then will probably take a break with Brave New World or some other fiction.

 

[dwyhajlo]



That was an AWESOME movie. I try not to read books where I've alrady seen the novie. Maybe this'll be the exception.

I'd say that if you enjoyed the movie, you might want to give the novel a try. Though it's essentially the same (plot-wise), enough of the story is different that it won't be 100% spoiled for you. I also think that, though the movie and the novel both offer essentially the same thesis vis-à-vis humanity and technology, because they offer slightly different viewpoints they create a sort of synthesis when taken together. One of those rare cases when the movie and the novel improve one another.

 

[Steve B.]



I read wine books not because I love piob (though I do) but because i'm in the industry and need to read the books to study for my upcoming exams. Well, that and because I enjoy reading nonfiction in general over fiction. Im working on 2 books for wine now and then will probably take a break with Brave New World or some other fiction.

It's not worth the read. If you want the same genre try Fahrenheit 451.

And you might really like The Picture of Dorian Gray.

 

[kwilkinson]



It's not worth the read. If you want the same genre try Fahrenheit 451.
And you might really like The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Picture of Dorian Gray was one of my favorite books of all time!!!!

 

[clockwise]

Clockwise counting 2/50: Andrei Makine - Human Love (2006)

Makine is a Russian-born French author with the most wonderful language as translated into English by Geoffrey Strachan. He has been flagged as a hot Nobel Prize candidate and he always tackles serious and tragic subjects. 

I have a read a few of his books already and he NEVER disappoints. In Human Love he leaves his typical Russian milieu and instead describes the terror of Angola, Kongo / Zaire and Somalia of the 1970s. The main protagonist is black Angolan marxist Elias, in love with the Russian diplomat's wife Anna and the story may be about the enduring power of love or the enduring power of faith in the midst of destruction and dehumanization.

This is a frightening story, which rings as true and is as hard to fathom as any news report on African civil war and suffering. It is indeed very well written but overall I would rate this Makine novel just a notch below his earlier works, mainly due to a less satisfying plot. A bit like a hazy nightmare more than an easily understandable narrative.

Wow, two books in four days... maybe the target of 50 is set too low....

 

[Steve B.]

We're getting a lot of traffic in this thread. Hope it stays that way.