This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

Xofpod · 02-03-2026 03:31PM

Couple of good books recently:

Hip-Hop is History, by Questlove (from the band the Roots). A very interesting look back over 50 years of rap/hip-hop from a cultural and industry point of view, written both as a fan and a player in the scene. Like with many music books, I found it almost as worthwhile for the playlists you put together when listening to it and the old tracks you listen to, as for the writing (which was excellent in this case, by the way).

The Ministry of Time, Kaliane Bradley. Time-travel, espionage, romance, all mixed up together. I was worried that it might be a bit sickly-sweet but it has a nice edge to it, looking at questions of colonialism, race, climate and more. The way the plot develops might be a little familiar if you've read broadly similar sci-fi stuff before but I think it's well worth a read.

eire4 · 16-03-2026 04:58PM

Finished Robert Ludlum's thriller The Matlock Paper. I had really enjoyed his Bourne trilogy so though I would give this earlier thriller of his a read and have to say it really was not up to the same standard.

Quiet Achiever · 16-03-2026 07:44PM

I started reading Moby Dick. Not at all as challenging as I thought it might be, it has very short chapters, but I'm not far in.

Xofpod · 20-03-2026 05:31PM

Read a couple of football books:

the Liam Brady autobiography Born to be a Footballer. I always liked Brady so was predisposed to like this, but actually truly loved it. It's a pretty straightforward account of playing in England and Italy in the 70s and 80s but he tells it with great insight and warmth. Covers similar ground to the recent enough RTE doc, but much more in-depth.

Also, Narcoball, David Arrowsmith, covering football and the drug cartels, and the huge interplay between the two, in 70s-90s Colombia. Veers a little into True Crime territory but balances the football well with the Escobar obsession. Well worth a read.

eire4 · 20-03-2026 10:31PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124327491#Comment_124327491

Thanks for the mention on Liam Brady's autobiography. Some great childhood memories going to watch him play for Ireland at Lansdowne Road. Will have to get myself that one for sure.

Xofpod · 23-03-2026 10:33AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124328300#Comment_124328300

It's great and it will definitely spark further good memories. What a player…

eire4 · 29-03-2026 07:24PM

Finished Robert Ludlum's thriller The Sigma Protocol and really enjoyed. Very much the proverbial page turner.

Xofpod · 01-04-2026 05:22PM

Down Cemetery Road, Mick Herron - the first novel by the guy who went on to write the (brilliant) Slow Horses series. This is presented as more of a detective story, and I think the later books in the series fully go down that route, but it actually shares a lot of common ground with the Slow Horses stuff - shady government agency hijinks, conspiracies, limited life expectancy even for main characters,…

I liked it, definitely enough to read the other books in the series

New Home · 01-04-2026 06:36PM

I've read a few children's books, this week.

By David Almond, one of my favourite authors:

Paper Boat, Paper Bird (Mina, a recurring character in D.A.'s books, travels to Kyoto with her mother)
War is Over (the life of an English child in 1918)
Joe Quinn's poltergeist
The dam

Illustrated by P.J. Lynch:

No one but you
The boy who fell off the Mayflower
A bag of moonshine

Currently reading:

By Donal Ryan (another amazing writer):

Heart, be at peace

By Niall Williams (same evaluation as for DR):

This is Happiness

I've a pile more borrowed from the library, hoping to get through as many of them as I can in the next month or so.

holy guacamole · 04-04-2026 01:46PM

Any Karl Ove Knausgaard fans here? Just read The School of Night and was blown away by it.

It's a bit like American Psycho mixed with Crime and Punishment and strange, occultist elements which are often hinted at but never expressly mentioned.

It's both a literary masterpiece and a compelling page-turner.

Really want to read more of his stuff now but not sure where to go next; his six-part autobiographical series 'My Struggle' does not appeal to me.

Hermy · 05-04-2026 10:16AM

I've read the first two volumes of Min Kamp and really like them though they might be described as an acquired taste.

I haven't read anything else of his but I will when time allows.

This Week I are mostly reading (contd)

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