2017: End of year review

Another year and another wistful look over the shoulder of the year that was. 

What were our favourite books we discussed in 2017

1. “Golden Hill” by Frances Spufford
2. “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”
3. “First Novel”
4. “Death And The Penguin”
“Unspeakable Things: Sex, Lies and Revolution”
“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”
“Goodfellas” aka “Wise Guy”
“Fever Dream”  by Samanta Schweblin
“From the Mouth of the Whale” 

What were our favourite albums we discussed in 2017

1. “Transformer” (1972) by Lou Reed
2. “L.A. Woman” (1971) by The Doors
3. “Light” (2010) by DakhaBrakha
4=. “Goodfellas” Soundtrack (1990) by Various Artists
4=. “Back to Land” (2013) by Wooden Shjips
6. “Folkways: The Original Vision” by Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly (2005)
“Urbanity UK” playlist - 1 + 1 = 2
“Christ” (1982) by Crass - 1 = 1
“Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik” (1994) by OutKast 


What were our favourite films we discussed in 2017

1=. “‘71” (2014) directed by Yann Demange
1=. “Everything Is Illuminated” (2005) directed by Liev Schreiber
1=. “Goodfellas” (1990) directed by Martin Scorsese
4. “Gangs of New York” (2002) directed by Martin Scorsese
“The Mask You Live In” (2015) (Documentary) directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom
“Timbuktu” (2014) directed by Abderrahmane Sissako
“Nói albinói” (aka Noi the Albino) (2003) directed by Dagur Kári
“Remainder” (2016) directed by Omer Fast
“Strange Signals from Outer Space!” 

What were our favourite themes of 2017

1. “Three Centuries in New York City”
2. “GoodFellas”
3. “1971”
4. “Oppression”
5. “Ukraine”
“Urbanity UK”
“Other Worlds”
“Icelandic OutKasts”
“Girls and Boys and Revolution”  
Hamish: No theme is a good theme

What was the best book you read this year (could be a Book Group choice or something else)?

Nigel: Jerusalem by Alan Moore
Hamish: All The Light We Cannot See
Tristan: Aurora - Kim Stanley Robinson
Keith: Sion - “From the Mouth of the Whale” will reassess - madman or genius?
Nick: Medium website
Roland: “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”
Robin: Goldfinch, Donna Tart 

What defined 2017 for you (news item, something personal etc.)?

Nigel: Ongoing Brexit bullshit
Hamish: Family, Low, Exams, Nastiness, Death
Tristan: The unremitting shitparade of Trump and Brexit
Keith: Announcement of a third child for William and Kate, and the announcement of the latest royal engagement for Harry and Megan. Roll on 2018.
Nick: I have thrown away a lot this year
Roland: Brexit and trip to Cambodia
Robin: Trump, Travel and Atalanta FC

What was the best thing about Book Group in 2017?

Nigel: I love it all - but I most especially I love a good theme
Hamish: Beer and lunch outside the Refugio after a great walk
Tristan: Lake Como visit was great fun. Just a shame that our Glorious Leader couldn't be there!
Keith: The euphoric toast as we settled for lunch lakeside after our Saturday morning Como hiking exertions (minus, alas, our leader).
Nick: Climbing up hills in Como and Sussex
Roland: Preparation of all and high level discussion
Robin: 6 go wild in in Italy !

How do we make Book Group even better?

Nigel: Well, it is brilliant, so hard to improve perfection
Hamish: Endorse only the very best
Tristan: More regular meetings: it felt like there were a couple of big gaps this year.
Keith: I think we have the format cracked. Review the schedule - did we lose a meeting or two?
Nick: I still don't think the music works - 90% of the time feels like an afterthought. Better to leave off than feel obliged.
Roland: Less lit crit (boring) more discussion of issues raised (interesting..)
Robin: Can't improve on perfection!

What else do you want to say?

Nigel: Floreat Hova Liber Cohors (Latin for "May Hove Book Group flourish" - like you need me to tell you that)
Hamish: Pronto!
Tristan: Nothing. Apart from thanks for all your dedicated organisation again this year.
Keith: All-round hearty 'thank you' for the cultural input that is HBG.
Nick: - - - - -
Roland: Pleasure to be part of it. Finely led by Sir Nigel
Robin: Will really miss the Christmas do

And finally, here's Keith busting a few moves at Al Duomo....

“From The Mouth of the Whale” (2008) by Sjón

On 9th November 2017, Hove's finest rode again. This time out it was to discuss three "outkast" selections courtesy of leading republican Sir Keith of Hove Park.

Sir Keith, fascinated as he is, by hermits, geysers and Bjork, reached for his well worn copy of.... 

BOOK: “From The Mouth of the Whale” (2008) by Sjón

From the Mouth of the Whale (Icelandic: Rökkurbýsnir) is a 2008 novel by the Icelandic writer Sjón. The English translation was shortlisted for the 2012 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and the 2013 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. 

The year is 1635. Iceland is a world darkened by superstition, poverty and cruelty. Men of science marvel over a unicorn’s horn, poor folk worship the Virgin in secret and both books and men are burnt. Jónas Pálmason, a poet and self-taught healer, has been condemned to exile for heretical conduct, having fallen foul of the local magistrate. Banished to a barren island, Jónas recalls his exorcism of a walking corpse on the remote Snjafjoll coast, the frenzied massacre of innocent Basque whalers at the hands of local villagers, and the deaths of three of his children.

Sjón is a celebrated Icelandic poet and novelist. His novels have been translated into twenty-five languages and include From the Mouth of the Whale and The Whispering Muse (both by Telegram). Sjón won the Nordic Council Literary Prize, the equivalent of the Man Booker Prize, for The Blue Fox and "Best Icelandic Novel" for The Whispering Muse in 2005. Also a songwriter, he has written lyrics for Björk, including for her eight studio album, Biophilia. 

The subsequent discussion was wide-ranging and divisive some, like Sir Keith, lauded it to the hilt, others like Hamish, gave it up as a bad job, not even finishing it. Sheesh. 

Tristan 6/10

Keith 9/10

Nick 7/10

Roland 5/10

Robin 5/10

Hamish 3/10

Nigel 6/10

MUSIC: “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik” (1994) by OutKast

Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik is the 1994 debut album of American hip hop duo OutKast. After befriending each other in 1992, rappers André 3000 and Big Boi pursued recording music as a duo and worked with production team Organized Noize, which led to their signing to LaFace Records. 

All the members of HBG get their annual invitation to the Players Ball. No surprise there, right? 

With that in mind it is also no surprise to learn that we love nothing more than a bit of early Outkast.

FILM: “Nói albinói” (aka Noi the Albino) (2003) directed by Dagur Kári

Is he the village idiot or a genius in disguise? 17 year old Noi drifts through life on a remote fjord in the north of Iceland. In winter, the fjord is cut off from the outside world, surrounded by ominous mountains and buried under a shroud of snow. Noi dreams of escaping from this white-walled prison with Iris, a city girl who works in a local gas staion. But his clumsy attempts at escape spiral out of control and end in complete failure. Only a natural disaster will shatter Noi's universe and offer him a window into a better world.

We bloody love Noi - there's a little bit of Noi in all of us. #truedat

ENDORSE IT

Currently we are endorsing…

Film: Rams - Icelandic film

Podcast: Flintoff, Savage and the Ping Pong Guy

Film: And Then They Killed My Wife (Netflix doc about Khymer Rouge)
Music: The Clientelle

Book: Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson

TV: Stranger Things season 2 (Netflix)

“Death And The Penguin” (1996) by Andrey Kurkov

After the long hot Summer HBG relocated to Lierna off the shore of Lake Como to discuss Tristan’s Summer sizzlers which had a distinctly Ukrainian vibe 

BOOK: “Death And The Penguin” (1996) by Andrey Kurkov

 Death and the Penguin is a novel by Ukrainian author Andrey Kurkov. Originally published in 1996 in Russian, it was translated and published in English in 2001. It is a bleak, satirical work with surreal elements and dark humour, and is also credited by The Independent's Lesley Chamberlain as being one of the texts to "get Russian literature going again after the post-Soviet hiatus”

Viktor’s pet penguin, Misha, is a marvellous creation who symbolises the confusion and loss of community that characterises post-Soviet Ukraine. Just as Misha the penguin is cut off from his natural, collective and co-opeative environment so Viktor is struggling to survive in a city that is confusing and unwelcoming to its human population.

On the face of it 'Death and the Penguin’ should be quite depressing given the environment and the plot and yet where Andrey Kurkov  really succeeds is in making it really readable, amusing and a bit of a page turner. It's blackly comic critique of post-Soviet corruption in Ukraine - and the inevitable bleakness -  is actually all part of the novel’s appeal. 

So, far from being depressing,  'Death and the Penguin’ is actually very readable, amusing and quietly rails against the world it describes. 

We also enjoyed the details of Ukrainian habits and culture: for example the interlude at the dasha, and the way pretty much every social interaction involves drinking

In short, it’s a charming, gripping, original, funny and provocative absurdist novel. 

Tristan 6/10

Keith 6/10

Nick 6/10

Roland 5/10

Robin 7.5/10

Hamish 8/10

Nigel 8/10

MUSIC: “Light” (2010) by DakhaBrakha

Light is the third studio album by the Ukrainian folk music band DakhaBrakha. It was released in 2010.

^ Robin / Roland / Keith - WTF?!

FILM: “Everything Is Illuminated” (2005)

Everything Is Illuminated is a 2005 biographical drama film, written and directed by Liev Schreiber and starring Elijah Wood and Eugene Hütz. It was adapted from the novel of the same name by Jonathan Safran Foer, and was the debut film of Liev Schreiberboth as a director and as a screenwriter.

^ Nick / Keith - WTF?!

Endorse it

More Lake Como shots....

“Goodfellas” aka “Wise Guy” (1986) by Nicholas Pileggi

Nick went with a GoodFellas theme - v much a compare and contrast deal, so much so that we took the unprecedented decision to discuss the lot together....

BOOK: “Goodfellas” aka “Wise Guy” (1986) by Nicholas Pileggi
MUSIC: “Goodfellas” Soundtrack (1990) by Various Artists
FILM: “Goodfellas” (1990) directed by Martin Scorsese

We loved the film, though some misguided types made unflattering comparisons with the Godfather despite both being works of art

Scorsese must have been jumping around with excitement as he read “Wise Guy” (1986) by Nicholas Pileggi - imagining how to film some of the key scenes

We were very struck by how much in the film is lifted from the book including whole chunks of dialogue

Also how incidental lines of dialogue are made into brilliant scene. Nick had a host of examples of this...

e.g. the date with Karen at the Copacabana / or coked up Helicopter scenes soundtracked by The Stones / or Layla soundtracking the bodies piling up after the Lufthansa heist

The last two illustrating the brilliant, chronologically arranged musical selections

So, was the book worth reading?

Absolutely however more for interest than because it stands up on its own merits. Without the film it would be a good insight into mob life. With the film it is interesting at the source material, that said there is more info on Lufthansa and more info on the Federal Witness Protection programme

We were interested to discover the legendary “Am I some kind of clown, do I amuse you…” scene is not in the book and, apparently, was improvised by Joe Pesci who had seen a real mobster do something similar.

GoodFellas' is an amazing tale, and a wonderful evocation of a bygone era but is one of those rare occasions where the film is all you really need.

All that said, Henry and his pals are amoral scumbags, and Hill is a sociopath whose justification for his crimes is that his needs outweigh everyone else's, and he dismisses anyone who is hardworking, honest or trusting as weak and just asking to be ripped off. 

Still, his outlaw mentality made for a a good book, and a classic film.

Songs on the soundtrack CD:

• "Rags to Riches" – Tony Bennett

• "Sincerely" – The Moonglows

• "Speedo" – The Cadillacs

• "Stardust" – Billy Ward and His Dominoes

• "Look in My Eyes" – The Chantels

• "Life Is but a Dream" – The Harptones

• "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" – The Shangri-Las

• "Baby, I Love You" – Aretha Franklin

• "Beyond the Sea" – Bobby Darin

• "Sunshine of Your Love" – Cream

• "Mannish Boy" – Muddy Waters

• "Layla (Piano Exit)" – Derek and the Dominos

ENDORSE IT

Currently we are endorsing…

BOOK: Watling Street by John Higgs

TV: Fargo - Season Three (C4)

TV: Gypsy (Netflix)

Music: London Grammar - Truth is a beautiful thing (2017)

Music: Turin Breaks (Live)

Film: Get Out dir by Jordan Peele (2017)

Book: Anthony Beevor - The Second World War

Film: Baby Driver dir by Edgar Wright (2017)
Music: Slowdive - Slowdive (2017)

“Fever Dream” (2017) by Samanta Schweblin

On Thursday 15th June 2017 we cycled to Devil’s Dyke to discuss Roland's selections. 

BOOK: “Fever Dream” (2017) by Samanta Schweblin

Roland didn't want to play safe. No Sir. Risky risky risky business, is the only business he knows. Words that were bandied around included confusing, obtuse, a bit weird, WTF, Fever Tree - yes, Fever Dream - no. 

What does it all mean? 

Keith 4/10
Roland 6/10
Nigel 5/10
Hamish 7/10
Tristan 5/10
Robin 3/10
Nick 4/10

Scores on the doors from Hove's finest

MUSIC: “Back to Land” (2013) by Wooden Shjips

Psych-drone. Not sure where they go from here though. Seems like ever decreasing circles - but yeah, we dig, kinda

FILM: “Strange Signals from Outer Space!” 2017

Must have looked good as a proposal but ultimately not much there

Interesting to see how scientists and researchers try to make contact with alien life but…er..they haven’t yet so, for all the Lorimer bursts, there wasn’t much to say

The visual trickery, X files style music and cinematography, and the folksy depiction of the married couple, all suggest the programme makers had pretty thin gruel when they came to edit their footage

 ENDORSE IT

Currently we are endorsing…

MUSIC: Kraftwerk 3-D live

FILM: Sing Street (on Netflix)

MUSIC: Cigarettes after Sex (long player 2017)

BOOK: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

FESTIVAL: Brighton Festival 

MUSIC: Mykki Blanco

POLITICIAN/SPEAKER: Bernie Sanders

MUSIC: Brahms

BOOK: Letters from a Stoic

MUSIC: Algiers live

“Golden Hill” (2016) by Frances Spufford

On Thursday 4th May 2017 HBG travelled to everybody’s favourite city - NYC, and not only that we leapt into Doc Brown’s DeLorean and did us some time travelling because our theme was….

Three Centuries in New York City

We started in 1746, when New York was a small town on the tip of Manhattan Island. We then travelled to 1972 where and took a walk on the wild side in the company of one of twentieth century New York’s most notable artists, Lou Reed, who evokes Andy Warhol's Factory and a rich array of vignettes from Manhattan and beyond. We then got back to 1846 and the slum neighbourhood of the Five Points district where a territorial war comes to a head between two gangs. There was blood.

BOOK: “Golden Hill” (2016) by Frances Spufford

Golden Hill is both a novel about the 18th century, and itself a book cranked back to the novel's 18th century beginnings, when anything could happen on the page, and usually did, and a hero was not a hero unless he ran the frequent risk of being hanged.

This is Fielding's Tom Jones recast on Broadway - when Broadway was a tree-lined avenue two hundreds yards long, with a fort at one end flying the Union Jack and a common at the other, grazed by cows. Rich in language and historical perception, yet compulsively readable, Golden Hill has a plot that twists every chapter, and a puzzle at its heart that won't let go till the last paragraph of the last page.

There reaction was universal acclaim from HBG just varying degrees of enthusiasm.

* Except from Robin. Oh Robin. Why Robin why? Robin read a different book instead. Not for the first time. 

The plot lurches from one engrossing set piece to another and has, at its heart, an intriguing mystery that is not revealed until the very end.

Memorable characters, and the evocation of both the era, and the sense of the nascent New York City, are testimony to Francis Spufford's rigorous research and skills as a writer.

In short, it’s a complete delight.

Nigel 9/10

Roland 8/10

Keith 8/10

Nick 9/10

Tristan 9/10

Hamish 7/10

Robin ??? *

MUSIC: “Transformer” (1972) by Lou Reed 

In 1997, Transformer was named the 44th greatest album of all time in a Music of the Millennium poll conducted in the United Kingdom by HMV Group, Channel 4, The Guardian and Classic FM. Transformer is also ranked number 55 on NME 's list of "Greatest Albums of All Time." In 2003, the album was ranked number 194 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It is also on Q Magazine's list of "100 Greatest Albums Ever”.

Yet more love for Lou’s Transformer, thou Hamish was a tad disappointed

FILM: “Gangs of New York” (2002) directed by Martin Scorsese

Gangs of New York is a 2002 American epic period drama film directed by

Martin Scorsese, set in the mid-19th century in the Five Points district of New York City. The screenplay is by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan. It was inspired by Herbert Asbury's 1927 nonfiction book, The Gangs of New York. It was made in Cinecittà, Rome, distributed by Miramax Films and nominated for numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture, among nine other Oscar nominations.

GONY was a bit more divisive but most of us found it a big fat slice of entertainment

ENDORSE IT

Currently we are endorsing...

FOOTBALL: Brighton and Hove Albion FC promotion to the Premier League

FOOTBALL: Portsmouth FC promotion to League One

BOOK: Rodigan: My Life In Reggae by David Rodigan

PODCAST: S-Town (podcast from the makers of Serial and This American Life) - second month running
TELEVISION: Line of Duty

TELEVISION: Easy on Netflix

TELEVISION: This Country on iPlayer
BOOK: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt 

TELEVISION: Car Share on iPlayer

BOOK: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
TELEVISION: Young Offender on Netflix

“The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” (2007) by Junot Díaz

“The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” (2007) by Junot Díaz

Hamish explained how, whilst wandering in Waterstones, he had espied “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” (2007) by Junot Díaz and, call it instinct, call if fate, call it luck, call it kizmet, the book found him. It was love at first sight. 

Hamish enjoyed this family saga about identity, love, loss, oppression, hexes, sexuality, and fate.  He revelled in the past and future lives of Oscar's sister, mother, aunts, grandparents, and college roommate. Insights into the history of the evil, repressive regime of Trujillo in the Dominican Republic rivalled anything he'd read about 'the disappeared' in Argentina.

 Roland really really enjoyed it. 

“How much should we suffer for love?” he queried. 

With the question still hanging in the air Roland exclaimed “It’s all about sex!” 

Nick was reminded of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Brilliant!

Nigel enjoyed the wonderfully energetic and imaginative writing but his initial enthusiasm gave way to some feelings of frustration and boredom 

Keith, in many ways a modern Don Quixote who is troubled by having sexual desires as well as platonic ones, found Oscar very relatable. If Nerd was a country, Oscar would be its undisputed king. 

Tristan immediately warmed to the earnestly open-hearted protagonist.  He was absorbed, indeed held captive. Wow! Of course Tristan can readily relate to Lovecraft, Doc Savage, Asimov, Heinlein and Edgar Rice Burroughs. An epic in the truest sense and in its fat, endearing hero's chest beats a Homeric heart. A lot like Tristan, minus the fat.

Hamish 7.5/10
Robin 7/10
Nigel 6/10
Nick 7.5/10
Tristan 9/10
Roland 7.5/10
Keith 6/10

“Folkways: The Original Vision” by Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly (2005)

Woody's "This Land Is Your Land" is an anthem for Hamish. And Leadbelly's "Goodnight, Irene" is too. 

Some less enlightened group members queried the sound quality but those who were unable to embrace light hearted stories about failed goose killings, or about oppression-drenched verses detailing racism, but sung with the optimism and pain, might need to try really listening, rather than a cursory listen at low volume whilst at work, or even not at all.  

“Timbuktu” (2014) directed by Abderrahmane Sissako

Another foreign language classic from Hamish. Amazing insight into another slice of modern history about which many of us were fairly ignorant. A film about anger and violence, but also the good side of humanity, and the fact that the actual militants are also victims of this system.

Curiously not everyone was convinced, for meditative read boring. Yes, you read that right. Fast and The Furious 7 it ain’t. More’s the pity. 

ENDORSE IT

NICK

STATUE: The bust of Cristiano Ronaldo at Madeira Airport

NIGEL

PODCAST: S-Town (podcast from the makers of Serial and This American Life) - three episodes in and loving it

TELEVISION: Better Call Saul - having finished the magnificent ‘Breaking Bad’ N is nearly done with BCS season two (with S3 due in March - huzzah) and loves it

BOOK: They All Love Jack by Bruce Robinson - a 900 page monster about.. a monster - Jack The Ripper. Bruce ‘Withnail and I’ Robinson vents his spleen at Ripperology and a Masonic cover of breathtaking audacity. 260 pages in and he’s already convinced

TRISTAN

TELEVISION: Carnage by Simon Amstell on iPlayer

BLOG: The Rise of the Weaponized AI Propaganda Machine

ROBIN

TELEVISION: Turkey with Simon Reeve on iPlayer

KEITH

BOOK: Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

ROLAND: 

TELEVISION: Sing Street on Netflix

HAMISH

CAMPAIGN: Save our Schools....

A parent-led group, based in Brighton and Hove, who are appalled by the latest government move to slash funding for our schools.

This latest blow comes after year upon year of narrowing the school curriculum; raising the bar so high on primary SATs tests that 47% of 10-11 year olds were told they had ‘failed’ last summer; privatization of our schools through the back door; and a barrage of other ill-thought out political vanity projects, all of which are stressing our state schools to breaking point.

Brighton and Hove schools face a £11.5 million cut in funding by 2020.

You can check out how much your child’s school is going to lose over the next two years by going to http://www.schoolcuts.org.uk/

After a ribald discussion about public masturbation at the Hay On Wye Literary Festival we bade each other goodnight

“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” (1971) by Hunter S. Thompson

“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” (1971) by Hunter S. Thompson

Robin explained how "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" is a roman à clef, rooted in autobiographical incidents. The story follows its protagonist, Raoul Duke, and his attorney, Dr. Gonzo, as they descend on Las Vegas to chase the American Dream through a drug-induced haze, all the while ruminating on the failure of the 1960s countercultural movement. Robin praised the lurid descriptions of illegal drug use and its early retrospective on the culture of the 1960s and the highly subjective blend of fact and fiction. Robin loves him a bit of gonzo journalism. Robin also loves the 1998 film version by Terry Gilliam, starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro who portrayed Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo, respectively.

Keith was too young for frenzied drug taking and pharmaceutically enhanced road trips. He lamented the cruelty and arbitrary nature of the universe. Then again he mused, and quoting Samuel Johnson in the book's preface: "He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man" and with that he was silent.

Roland and Nick enjoy deserts

When Roland first read 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas', as a teenager he perceived it as a manifesto for hedonism and excess. It served him well. As a mature adult in 2017, it seems more obviously a lament for the failed promise of the 1960s counterculture and the hippy dream. Where have all the good times gone? Won't you tell me?

Nick loves both deserts and desserts - recurrent themes in his life. "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" is a classic historical document. All life is captured in its pages.

Hamish passionately asserts that other people’s drug escapades are boring.  Either take your own drugs and have your own bizarre experiences or don’t get involved. Visions of reptiles at the hotel bar and bats around the car no longer carry much interest for him. Not anymore. Not after Devils Dyke.

The Terry Gilliam film adaptation simply does not work. Or does it? Hunter S. Thompson and Terry Gilliam seems like a marriage made in heaven and yet, whilst visually pleasing, it ultimately boils down to endless scenes of drug fuelled stupidity. Or does it?

Hamish 6/10

Robin 7/10

Nigel 6/10

Nick 8/10

Tristan 7/10

Roland 4/10

Keith 5/10

Chilly discussion 

MUSIC: “L.A. Woman” (1971) by The Doors

L.A. Woman is the sixth studio album by the American rock band the Doors, released on April 19, 1971, on Elektra Records. 

The Doors divided the Hove Book Group - some fall upon Jim's discarded leather trousers, others felt their over-sexed, come-hither stomp only appeals to teenage ne’er do wells

FILM: “‘71” (2014) directed by Yann Demange

'71 is a 2014 British historical thriller film set in Northern Ireland, written by Gregory Burke and directed by Yann Demange. It stars Jack O'Connell, Sean Harris, David Wilmot, Richard Dormer, Paul Anderson and Charlie Murphy, and tells the story of a British soldier who becomes separated from his unit during a riot in Belfast at the height of the Troubles in 1971.

We've got mad love for '71

ENDORSE IT

Roland: Lion film
Robin: The Real Marigold Hotel (BBC TV series)
Nick: The Fantastic Mr Fox film
Keith: Look Who's Back film (Netflix)
Nigel: Breaking Bad seasons 3 + 4 (Netflix)
Tristan: The Skeleton Tree To The Rise of Trump blog post
Tristan: Bronies documentary (Netflix)

“First Novel” (2013) by Nicholas Royle

“First Novel” (2013) by Nicholas Royle

Paul Kinder, a novelist with one forgotten book to his name, teaches creative writing in a university in the north-west of England. Either he's researching his second, breakthrough novel, or he's killing time having sex in cars. Either eternal life exists, or it doesn't. Either you'll laugh, or you'll cry. Or maybe even both.

That's the blurb and we all felt this does not prepare the reader for this splendid, consistently well written, and very clever and provocative book.

In short, we loved it. The only thing we disagreed upon was the extent to which we loved it

Keith 7/10

Roland 8/10

Tristan 8.5/10

Nigel 9/10

Robin 8/10

Hamish 9/10

Nick 9/10

MUSIC: “Urbanity UK” playlist on Spotify

Keith curated his own selection of urban anthems to accompany his other choices..

The Members - Sound of the Suburbs

The Smiths - Panic

The Specials - Ghost Town

The Exploited - Dead Cities

The Clash - The Guns of Brixton

Soft Cell - Bedsitter

Squeeze - Up The Junction

Elvis Costello - Hoover Factory

Pet Shop Boys - Suburbia

The Clash - Bankrobber

Carter USM - The Only Living Boy in New Cross

The Human League - The Sound of the Crowd

Pet Shop Boys - Where The Streets Have No Name

Pulp - Mile End

Anti-Nowhere League - Streets of London

The Jam - In The City

A fine selection eh what?  

FILM:

“Remainder” (2016) directed by Omer Fast 

Most of the group roundly dismissed "Remainder" (shit, dreadful, dull, irritating etc) with only Keith and Nigel enjoying it. Curiously Keith and Nigel really liked it a lot, considering it well executed, complex, thought provoking and accomplished film. 

ENDORSE IT

Currently we are endorsing...

TRISTAN: The Martian (both the book and the film)

TRISTAN: The Loyal Opposition newsletter

NICK: T2 Trainspotting (film)

ROBIN: T2 Trainspotting (film)

NIGEL: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (film)

NIGEL: Brian Blessed 'Absolute Pandemonium (audiobook)

NIGEL: Backlisted podcast

ROLAND: Hanif Kureishi ‘Buddha of Suburbia' (book)

HAMISH: Lampchop 'Flotus' (LP)

KEITH: Eddie the Eagle (film)