191 replies to this topic

[Mike]

The only thing I have read by David Nicholls was a short story about learning to play piano, and I liked it.

You may well like One Day then.

There's a new Iain (non-M) Banks out this year as well, Stonemouth, which looks like a more straightforward straight fiction than his last one, and appears to be set in a slightly fictionalised version of Peterhead, the world's grimmest town.

[T Masters]

I met David Nichols right before Starter for Ten was released.
He was talking with my aunt about scripting an Australian/UK long-distance romance dramedy in the style of "Cold Feet" (which he wrote).
The collaboration never eventuated and Nichols used some of his ideas for "Aftersun" and my aunt left Channel Ten who would produce the show (they did eventually launch a similar themed drama, which was short-live, and for the life of me I can't remember what it was called.)

Anyway, Nicholls was a pretty nice guy who seemed humbled by his success. "Starter for Ten" really was an experiment for him and he had always thought of himself as a TV writer and not a novelist. With the subsequent success of "Starter for Ten", and the film, and then "One Day", Nicholls strikes me as a man who's sort of fallen into success without really having had to develop his talent. He's a marketable commodity now (like our chief) and anything with his name on it's going to draw the attention of Hollywood regardless of actual quality.

I haven't read "One Day", and I though "Starter for Ten" was very readable, but insular; it's as if Nicholls can describe his stories of youth and awkwardness in a way in which we can relate purely on a sympathetic level, but he lacks the skill to be able to really draw us in to his characters and let us as the reader experience their humanity as our own.

Maybe that's what people prefer these days. To keep distance. To be aware of the human stain without having to feel it's texture.

[David Chapman]

David, the sales are for 2011. The implication would be that people who bought the first two books before 2011 went on to buy the third in 2011.

I was aware of that. OTOH, I think I get it. Say sales were 140k for Dragon Tattoo, 100k for GWPWF and 120k for Hornet's Nest. A simple breakdown might be that 100k people bought all three books in 2011, a further 20k who had bought the first two in 2010 finally got round to buying the third in 2011, and 40k people bought Dragon Tattoo but not either of the others (yet).

[Ogul]

I like the film a lot but I agree with Stephen King's criticisms of it even if I don't think they kill the film like he seems to. If the main character had seemed more sane and sympathetic what happened to him would have worked better, as would the family falling apart element. I find Nicholson to be a really menacing presence right from the start. I don't think it was all down to the casting, I think the script and direction share the blame. Nicholson probably could have played the role sympathetically if that had been what he was asked to do.

I much preferred the TV miniseries from the late 90s, staring that guy from Wings.

[Rory Abel]

If Jack Nicholson's character in the film hadn't lost it and tried to kill people after a while in an isolated hotel that would have been much stranger than what actually happened.


I like the film a lot but I agree with Stephen King's criticisms of it even if I don't think they kill the film like he seems to. If the main character had seemed more sane and sympathetic what happened to him would have worked better, as would the family falling apart element. I find Nicholson to be a really menacing presence right from the start. I don't think it was all down to the casting, I think the script and direction share the blame. Nicholson probably could have played the role sympathetically if that had been what he was asked to do.

Very true, though I never really bought the characters transformation from struggling family man to monster in the book either. It was one of the multitude of problems the book had.

[Will]

Very much looking forward to the third and possible the final novel in Olen Steinhauer's Milo Weaver series, "An American Spy. " cannot recommend the first two in the series, "The Tourist" and "Nearest Exit" enough.

[Scott Wilkinson]

Stewart Lee's mini follow up to "How I Escaped My Certain Fate" "Stewart Lee! The 'If You Prefer a Milder Comedian Please Ask For One' EP".
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stewart-Prefer-Milder-Comedian-Please/dp/0571279848/ref=tmm_pap_title_0
Seems he has another proper sized book out this summer "TV Comedian" . . . about Eddie izzard?

Edited by Scott Wilkinson, 03 January 2012 - 11:48 AM.

[Nicholas Taggart]

I am going through a different list of upcoming books than the one from last week and have come across the book that I am most looking forward to this year. The Cove by Ron Rash.

Chabon's next book is coming out this year, so I'll read that.

[Mike]

Have you got a link to the list Nicholas? I always try to load my Amazon basket at this time of year as a reminder of what's coming out when.

[Nicholas Taggart]

Have you got a link to the list Nicholas? I always try to load my Amazon basket at this time of year as a reminder of what's coming out when.

http://www.themillio...ok-preview.html

[Paul F]

I didn't know China Miéville had another book out. I'll be getting that. I think I liked his last YA book, Un Lun Dun, but it wasn't one of my favourites of his.

[Ulf Imwiehe]

http://www.themillio...ok-preview.html

That’s a great list! I’m most looking forward to China Miéville, Michel Houellebecq, Alain de Botton, Martin Amis and Susan Sontag.

I didn't know China Miéville had another book out. I'll be getting that. I think I liked his last YA book, Un Lun Dun, but it wasn't one of my favourites of his.

His most recent novel, Embassytown, really blew me away.

[Rory Abel]

That’s a great list! I’m most looking forward to China Miéville,



His most recent novel, Embassytown, really blew me away.

Isn't he currently writing Hawk & Dove too?

[Ulf Imwiehe]

Isn't he currently writing Hawk & Dove too?

If I remember correctly Hawk and Dove is written by Sterling Gates. But now that you mention it, there were some rumors about Miéville writing a comic book. Was it Swamp Thing?

[Mark Peyton]

It was Swamp Thing and it died as an idea last year. Speculation has been that it was killed off as it was a Vertigo book and Didio wanted Swamp Thing back in DCU.

[Ulf Imwiehe]

Which is a shame as Miéville and Swamp Thing sounds like a match made in heaven. Although I’d rather see him do a creator-owned comic preferably with Duncan Fegredo on art.

[Paul F]

There's some info on what would have been in Miéville's Swamp Thing here: http://www.swampthin...-thing-run.html

[Mike]

Cheers Nicholas, definitely a few more there.

It always surprises me the difference in publication dates that still exists between the US and the UK; I tend to assume that these days, most things come out simultaneously. Guess not.

Oh, and I read two great wee books yesterday, both of which read like DVD special features for other things - Stewart Lee's annotated transcript of his second last show 'If You Prefer a Milder Comedian Please Ask For One', which is hilarious; and a non-fiction book from Miranda July, writing about the difficulties she had in completing her second movie script, and the lengths she went to to rejuvenate her creative juices It Chooses You, in which she picks random people selling things out of the LA classified ads and goes and talks to them about their lives. I've not seen her second film (The Future), but I sort of want to now.

[Paul F]

It always surprises me the difference in publication dates that still exists between the US and the UK; I tend to assume that these days, most things come out simultaneously. Guess not.

Yeah, I was surprised to see Alan Bennett's Smut on that list; I read it last April.

[Tonycal]

I'm 100 pages into Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Hancock. This is a very interesting book so far. It is bringing up some interesting theories and points about a possible lost civilization. I'm really enjoy it.