THE DONSTALK BOOK CLUB

[TheDonbytheDee]

4 minutes ago, CurlsLikeTattie said:

Dave Berry wrote one (with a ghost writer). I gave up on it

Who is Dave Berry??

Maybe a joke here, but well above my head.

[CurlsLikeTattie]

1 hour ago, TheDonbytheDee said:

Who is Dave Berry??

Maybe a joke here, but well above my head.

Radio bloke. Does breakfast show on Absolute. Bit annoying but I don't mind the breakfast show

[TheDonbytheDee]

On 18/05/2026 at 20:56, Don Julio said:

Will be interested in what you make of the Barnes

I'm not quite sure what to make of it.

An interesting book, mainly about death and loss and written in the usual Barnes style, but it seems more a reflection of his own life.

I enjoyed reading it, but was never quite sure what kind of book I was reading.

A book only an established writer, would get away with.

 

[BigAl]

I am a member of a site that grants ARC's (advanced reader copy) in return for honest and unbiased reviews hence a lot of books I actually read are not yet published.

One of the books I've just read and posted an online review is called "The Butcher Of Aberdeen" by Roje Augustin. The Aberdeen in question is not our one but Aberdeen, Australia.

It tells the story of Katherine Knight and is a true story of Sex, Madness & Murder and gives the background to her life and the horrific crime she committed and is still incarcerated for and will remain so for the rest of her life. It is without doubt, the most brutally descriptive book I have ever read.

It is however, extremely thought provoking in that it is beyond belief that the Australian authorities allowed her to walk free for so long and ultimately her committing the brutal murder and skinning of her partner.

As long as you're not squeamish, this one is worth a read when it is published in the summer.

[TheDonbytheDee]

Antimacassar City - Guy McCrone

First of the Wax Fruit Trilogy, as mentioned previously by Blin Lemon.

Didn't think I would like it after the first few pages, but then reached the point where I couldn't put it down.

Book two has now been requested from the Library. 

If anyone was wondering, Antimacassar is the small piece of cloth that people put over the tops and arms of chairs. At least that's what Google told me.  

 

 

[blinlemon]

Hard copy Proper Mannies’ book 1: Simmy (uses the term ‘N*w F*rm twice  but redeems himself by referencing Keith FC)

Hard copy Proper Mannies’ book 2: Agnes Owens’s: For The Love of Willie (late Scottish author, enjoying a renaissance as new editions are published)  courtesy of the toon library.   

Hard copy Proper Mannies’ book 3: the Island Book of Records Vol 1 1959-68

Audiobook: Sebastian Faulks’s Fires Which Burned Brightly (10 fab essays)  compulsive listening  

Kindle: Clare Chambers’s Shy Creatures. 

[blinlemon]

2 hours ago, TheDonbytheDee said:

Antimacassar City - Guy McCrone

First of the Wax Fruit Trilogy, as mentioned previously by Blin Lemon.

Didn't think I would like it after the first few pages, but then reached the point where I couldn't put it down.

Book two has now been requested from the Library. 

If anyone was wondering, Antimacassar is the small piece of cloth that people put over the tops and arms of chairs. At least that's what Google told me.  

 

 

Ach min, you could have had my copy. I left it in a Weegie Air BNB after an enforced emergency seven-week stay, as the book selection, apart from a Kate Atkinson, was airport novels and populist poop. The two following parts of Wax Fruit are very good too. I’d be interested to hear how you got on. 

Edited May 22 by blinlemon
I mis-spelled BNB like a right twat.

[blinlemon]

35 minutes ago, blinlemon said:

Hard copy Proper Mannies’ book 1: Simmy (uses the term ‘N*w F*rm twice  but redeems himself by referencing Keith FC)

Hard copy Proper Mannies’ book 2: Agnes Owens’s: For The Love of Willie (late Scottish author, enjoying a renaissance as new editions are published)  courtesy of the toon library.   

Hard copy Proper Mannies’ book 3: the Island Book of Records Vol 1 1959-68

Audiobook: Sebastian Faulks’s Fires Which Burned Brightly (10 fab essays)  compulsive listening  

Kindle: Clare Chambers’s Shy Creatures. 

I forgot, I’m also on page 112/277 of Arnold Bennet’s 1923 Riceyman Steps in a battered classic orange Penguin paperback (priced at twa bob, ie 10p for you yirlin radges) dated 1953. Hard copy Proper Mannies’ book 4. 

[blinlemon]

Re Agnes Owens mentioned awa up there somewye ^^^^^ she gets a bit of PR in Birlinn Books’ weekly newsletter which hit my inbox today:

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AGNES!
Sunday will mark the centenary of the birth of Agnes Owens, a brilliant but much overlooked Scottish author. Throughout this year we are republishing her entire collected works and sharing her wonderfully frank and deadpan writing with a new generation of readers.

The first four titles, with introductions by Kirstin Innes, Heather Parry, Kirsty Logan, and Dani Garavelli, are published now, with three further titles coming this September. These new editions have already been receiving some glowing praise in the media:

'This unsung writer can make you laugh and shock you on the same page' - The Times
'A working class genius... darkly comic' - The Observer 
'What under­pins this black com­edy is Owens’ authen­tic por­trayal of 1950s work­ing­-class hard­ship' - Daily Mail
'One of the most arresting and distinctive voices of twentieth century literature' - BBC Radio 4 Front Row”

[KGB]

I've downloaded Wax Fruits and am looking forward to it as it has been previously recommended.

For some reason I  generally don't read much in the 6 months I'm in Scotland but go into overdrive in the other 6 when I'm in Spain and have more time on my hands.

I tend to favour crime thrillers and  am currently rotating  between Robert Crais- Elvis Cole series, Denzil Meyrick- DCI Daley series, Mark Billingham- DCI Tom Thorne series and some Pg Wodehouse- Jeeves and Wooster or Alexander McCall Smith- Scotland Street books to lighten the mood.

I also recommend reading Craig Russell's Lennox books about a private detective in 1950's Glasgow and his Jan Fabel series set in Germany

I've previously enjoyed reading Elmore Leonard, Michael Connelly and John Le Carre books, particularly the Smiley series. 

[BigAl]

Right, so I'm going to to get pelters for this, but the other day in my Amazon feed I saw the Duncan Ferguson autobiography in ebook format for 99p.

Thought what the fuck, why not, if nothing else it might give me even more reason to dislike the Big Hun.

Turns out it is a really good read with only really one chapter (not very long) about his time playing for them.

Amusing anecdotes about his time starting out at The Arabs including tales of how some weeks he owed the club money such was the level of fines Wee McLean was hitting him with.

Huge focus on his time in Barlinnie that was an interesting read.

His passion for Everton FC really knows no boundaries and it turns out he is a really generous type of guy.

Actually one of the better footballer's autobiographies I've read and certainly worth less than a pound  

[swaddon]

I could give you pelters, but I once borrowed Paul Gascoigne's autobiography from the library, and I enjoyed it.

[Mason89]

2 hours ago, swaddon said:

I could give you pelters, but I once borrowed Paul Gascoigne's autobiography from the library, and I enjoyed it.

Ive read Bernard Mannings 

[BigAl]

3 hours ago, swaddon said:

I could give you pelters, but I once borrowed Paul Gascoigne's autobiography from the library, and I enjoyed it.

Hun