Non pretentious books that aren't crap

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I'm not looking to expand my mind with heavyweight titles but also don't want to rot it with kitsch fiction. I suspect this is a big ask as the arts are subjective, however as members of the UKC collective we should be culturally assimilated already to some extent. Any ideas, then?

4
 Hooo 24 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

That's a tough ask with no more detail about your preferences. One person's heavyweight tome is anothers light entertainment.

I'm going to have a go with Primo Levi's If Not Now, When? One of my all time favorites. Definitely not hard to read, but in no way could it be considered kitsch fiction.

Post edited at 17:23
 Harry Jarvis 24 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

An interesting question, the answers to which depend to a large part on your definitions of pretentious and crap. However, if you are looking for fiction recommendations, you might like to try anything by Robert Harris, which to my mind fit the bill of decent quality fiction without pretension. 

https://www.waterstones.com/books/search/term/robert+harris

I would also offer Robertston Davies:

https://www.waterstones.com/books/search/term/robertson+davies

or for crime fiction with a bit of twist, Joe Ide: 

https://www.waterstones.com/author/joe-ide/3528925

You might also find this website useful:

https://whatshouldireadnext.com/

It's not perfect, but it's not a bad place to browse

In reply to Hooo:

Just the ticket!

I have ordered a second hand copy.

In reply to Harry Jarvis:

Thanks! Plenty to go at there. I'll browse your links.

 MonkeyPuzzle 24 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

The ''A Song of Ice and Fire" (Game of Thrones) novels by George R. R. Martin are great. Plenty of plot complexity but proper page turners.

The Smiley/Tinker Tailor trilogy by John le Carre - brilliantly immersive, brilliantly paranoid Cold War-era espionage.

Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold - historical fiction weaving imagined characters and events seamlessly with the real in the 1920s, featuring Houdini, Philo Taylor Farnsworth, Max Friz and loads of others. Brilliant fun.

In reply to Harry Jarvis:

https://whatshouldireadnext.com/

> It's not perfect, but it's not a bad place to browse

A handy resource! Typed in the last book I read and it suggested I read Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.

Great stuff!

 Hooo 24 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

That is a great recommendation. Ivan Denisovich is another classic that is easy to read but profound and important.

Best read in one sitting for the full effect!

 overdrawnboy 24 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

The Way of the Transgressor by Negley Farson. A man who lived a varied and interesting life.

 Stichtplate 24 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

Cormac McCathy

Umberto Eco

Charles Bukowski

Kurt Vonnegut

Chuck Palahniuk

Graham Greene

Evelyn Waugh

Robert Graves

...for starters.

 Jon Stewart 24 Jan 2019
In reply to Stichtplate:

Some of that lot is more what I consider weighty (but not pretentious, just requiring effort which I'm not always prepared to put in). 

Anyone who hasn't read Dan Rhodes should do. Although they might hate it. 'When The Professor Got Stuck In The Snow' is quite a good place to start, particularly if you think brutally taking the piss out of Richard Dawkins is worthy of a whole book. They're all great though.

On a similar light, amusing, but rather brilliant note, Magnus Mills is great - 'All Quiet On The Orient Express' is my favourite. 

'A Spot Of Bother' by Mark Haddon is hilarious and very humane. But I found a later one I tried boring.

If anyone wants to read something really, really horrible, but absolutely gripping and brilliant, 'Beastings' by Benjamin Myres is...err, a novel you probably won't forget in a hurry. Great writing.

 john arran 24 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

Anything I've read by Nick Hornby seems to fit your criteria perfectly. Just really well written, insightful, funny observations on human interaction. All highly recommended (even if the screen adaptation of 'About a boy' was murdered by Hugh Grant!)

 Stichtplate 24 Jan 2019
In reply to Jon Stewart:

I’m going to have to look out Beastings now, plus the Dawkins piss take. He does take himself far too seriously.

 Morty 24 Jan 2019
In reply to Hooo:

> That is a great recommendation. Ivan Denisovich is another classic that is easy to read but profound and important.

> Best read in one sitting for the full effect!

 

I wouldn't describe it as easy to read.

 

 

 

In reply to Phantom Disliker:

Puckoon by Spike Milligan is seriously funny and also an interesting insight into the Irish border situation.

 McHeath 24 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

"Water Music" by T.C. Boyle (a pseudo-historical but wildly inventive novel about a19th century expedition to the source of the Niger) is brilliantly funny and an absolute page turner.

 toad 24 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

Neal Stevensons Baroque  books are worth a look. And The Name of the Rose really rattles along

Am on a spree. Just bought The Limpet Syndrome: How to Survive the Afterlife by Tony Moyle

 DerwentDiluted 24 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

> Just the ticket!

> I have ordered a second hand copy.

Treat yourself to his collection of short stories 'The Periodic Table', you won't regret it.

 Blue Straggler 24 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

Geek Love by Katherine Dunn.

pasbury 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

Ian Banks, the crow road as a start

Vonnegut, anything but especially Slaughterhouse 5 and, the work of utter genius; Hocus Pocus

Tom Robbins, Jutterbug Perfume

John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Last Night in Twisted River, Thoe Fourth Hand etc etc

Post edited at 00:07
In reply to pasbury:

> Ian Banks, the crow road as a start

Read The Wasp Factory as a youth and found it devoid of humanity - maybe that was the point, but that put me off Banks. Slaughterhouse 5 - I haven't read either but reading the synopsis on Amazon it strikes me as though it could be a bit cerebral for my tastes. Still, never judge a book by its cover as the saying goes...

 Hooo 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

It's worth giving Iain Banks another go. He didn't write anything else remotely like The Wasp Factory. The Crow Road is a good recommendation.

Kurt Vonnegut, it's my firm belief that everyone should read one of his books. There is no one else like him. Give Slaughterhouse 5 a go. It's not hard work, and you won't know unless you try.

 Hooo 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Morty:

> I wouldn't describe it as easy to read.

Ah, that's the problem I mentioned in my first post. My easy read is your hard work. I picked up the book one dull morning and didn't put it down until I'd finished it. It's definitely a lot easier than Dostoyevsky or any other Russians I've read.

To the OP, this being UKC someone will come along soon and recommend James Joyce and claim he's not hard work. You can safely ignore them.

1
 Thunderbird7 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

Try Stan Barstow - the Vic Brown trilogy - A Kind of Loving, The Watchers on the Shore and A Right True End

 dh73 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

anything by John Steinbeck

 SuperLee1985 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

I've been binging on Joe Abercrombie recently. His First Law series is excellent!

It's fantasy but a lot more grown up than things like Lord of the Rings and a lot lighter on the fantastical elements, most of it is about the characters, people and politics interspersed with edge-of-the-seat action sequences. 

It's also pretty fast paced compared to a lot of fantasy series, the actions starts pretty much from page 1 and doesn't really stop.

The other thing I really like about it is that unlike a lot of fantasy it's not really about good vs evil, it's more one shade of grey vs a slightly different shade of grey.

The first trilogy focusses primarily on the 'Union' who are portrayed as the 'good guys' but  the methods used their goals are often questionable.

The second set of standalone books then focusses primarily on characters outside of the union and you find yourself sympathising with their causes and disliking the Union. Many characters from the original trilogy re-occur and people you thought you hated when told of them from one side of the story you find yourself endearing too and rooting for when you hear things from their point of view.

The characters are deep, none of these squeaky clean heroes, they all have their own flaws and dirty secrets and their motivations are not always pure.

I can't recommend highly enough!

 Andy Clarke 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Hooo:

> To the OP, this being UKC someone will come along soon and recommend James Joyce and claim he's not hard work. You can safely ignore them.

It's only me who ever does that and I'm keeping quiet.

 Sealwife 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg.  Thoughtful, scandi-noir.  

 Dave Garnett 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Hooo:

> It's worth giving Iain Banks another go. He didn't write anything else remotely like The Wasp Factory. The Crow Road is a good recommendation.

To be fair there are a few rather abstract examples (I wouldn't recommend Whit or A Song of Stone, for instance) but his straight contemporary (at least then) fiction like A Steep Approach to Garbadale or Stonemouth is a joy.  It's slick and witty, always with a bit of twist, and usually a great soundtrack!

 

 ripper 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

For easy reading that's definitely not crap it's hard to go wrong with anything by Elmore Leonard. Also second the rec. above for Magnus Mills - Restraint of Beasts being my favourite of the ones I've read.

 SuperstarDJ 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

Kate Atkinson - start with 'Case Histories' for a contemporary story or 'Life after Life' for something more historical and high concept.

I've recently enjoyed Anne Cleeves 'Vera' novels.  Crime fiction but quite lit fic.  Well written and very readable.

David

 Pero 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Hooo:

> Kurt Vonnegut, it's my firm belief that everyone should read one of his books.

I did. One was enough for me!

 

Post edited at 13:44
 Siward 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey Maturin novels. I'm currently on number 13 and still reading avidly. 

 Bulls Crack 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

Currently reading Rotherweird https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/may/18/rotherweird-by-andrew-caldeco... 

 

As the Guardian says: the love-child of Gormenghast and Hogwarts! 

 hang_about 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

I find a good biography interesting. I happened to read Martin Luther King's and Malcolm X's back-to-back a while ago and it had a fair impact.

 mav 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Bulls Crack:

I read that last year. I had reservations, but probably unfair to say while you are half-way. 

To the OP:

Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451 - the film is due later this year, so get in first. Extraordinary

Literally anything by Murakami, but I'll suggest IQ84 is his masterpiece. The Colorless .... may be a good intro

The Plot against America, Philip Roth. Brilliant writer, with  alternative history where Lindberg becomes President of USA

 

 

 toad 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Pero:

> I did. One was enough for me!

So it goes...

 toad 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Bulls Crack:

> Currently reading Rotherweird https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/may/18/rotherweird-by-andrew-caldeco... 

> As the Guardian says: the love-child of Gormenghast and Hogwarts! 

Rotherwierd is good, the sequel.....less so. Seems like filler before the finale

 pneame 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Siward:

> Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey Maturin novels. I'm currently on number 13 and still reading avidly. 

Agreed - I've read the lot twice (possibly 3x?) and once you get into the mindset they are absolutely engrossing and delightful. 

 Hooo 25 Jan 2019
In reply to dh73:

> anything by John Steinbeck

That's another excellent recommendation. Especially Of mice and men. Not heavy going, but deeply moving and stayed with me a long time.

 Morty 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Hooo:

> Ah, that's the problem I mentioned in my first post. My easy read is your hard work. I picked up the book one dull morning and didn't put it down until I'd finished it. It's definitely a lot easier than Dostoyevsky or any other Russians I've read.

> To the OP, this being UKC someone will come along soon and recommend James Joyce and claim he's not hard work. You can safely ignore them.

I was talking about the content rather than the complexity.  However, the OP was asking for non-pretentious recommendations and I think, based on your post, you are probably not qualified to comment... 

1
 Hooo 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Morty:

I'm not sure what you're on about here. I can see how my comment about my easy read being your hard work might have come across as snobby, and if that's the case then I apologise, I didn't mean it like that. I meant that due to differences in taste, a book that one person will breeze through will be a slog for another. Certainly a book about a day in the Gulag doesn't sound like a light read, but I found it inspiring.

On the other hand, if you meant that One day in life of Ivan Denisovich is pretentious, then you're just wrong.

 Morty 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Hooo:

Maybe I misinterpreted your post - my mistake. I agree with you about Of Mice and Men, despite having read it at least 100 times (for work and pleasure), it still has the most unsatisfying final lines of any book I've ever read.

 

And that giant rabbit...

 Tom Valentine 25 Jan 2019
In reply to mav:

I think the Fahrenheit 451 film has been available on Sky Atlantic for a few months now, if it's the version with Michael Shannon.

Post edited at 19:05
 jockster 25 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philip-Kerr/e/B000AQ3KZ6

 

Phillip Kerr's Bernie Gunther detective novels are really good.

 Thunderbird7 30 Jan 2019
In reply to pneame:

His characters are so well written and woven into the fabric of the stories that they seem like friends by the end of the series. I was devastated when ....... died!

 Fishmate 31 Jan 2019
In reply to Phantom Disliker:

The last book I read was 'Viet Tran Nguyen's' 'The Sympathiser'. 2016 Pulitzer winner and highly engaging with vivid characters that are well developed. It's an interesting cultural perpective on the nature of man and Nguyen provides an insight into life that translates to the written word perfectly.

In reply to Phantom Disliker:

As others have mentioned, Steinbeck is wonderful. Stories that roll along at no great pace but taps into many foibles of the human condition so can be relateable.

The Flashman Papers are a riot and almost guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. great fun


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