Stopharage

As we all know, Chris Sutton only ever states the truth, so let this be the end of the matter. 

3 minutes ago, Chooch said:

I’m not sure kudos is deserved for showing Lampard up. 

I dunno, for a game in which a draw would probably be seen as a decent away result, Jones did make a number of attacking tactical changes which potentially opened them up a bit at the back. 

Been far more entertaining than Leicester's performance this afternoon. 

If Southampton see this out, kudos to Jones. His substitutions and tactical changes in the 2nd half have shown Lampard up.

2. The Every by Dave Eggers 

Second of my planned 2023 reads down. This is a sequel to Eggers’ The Circle, which was about the dystopian impacts of a behemoth social media site. I wasn’t hugely enamoured with that, although it was significantly better than the Netflix version. 
 

Anyway this is a sequel which ramps things up even more and I really didn’t get much out of it. The relentless spread of ever more inhumane apps and the slavishness of the employees made for a dispiriting novel. 
 

Eggers is one of my favourite contemporary writers but I don’t get on with these books at all. 
 

Think that will be tough to beat.

5 hours ago, Stejay said:

 

I am a big Seinfeld fan, but due to that I've probably heard most of the material on there already.

 

Is there any overlap between Stranger and Short History?  I bought the latter before I saw your reply.

I'd say not really. Short History is (from memory) much more focused on the science behind creation and beyond. 

Stranger Than We Can Imagine is a far more enlightening tome as it's the writer's explanation behind the events of the 20th Century. The book covers the subjects of relativity, modernism, war, individualism, the id, uncertainty, Science fiction, realism, space, sex, teenagers, chaos, growth, post-modernism and networking. 

It's brilliant, thought-provoking and genuinely had me looking at events from a slightly different perspective as a result. His 'The Future Starts Here" is also well worth a purchase. 

On 08/01/2023 at 23:10, Darren said:

It’s showing as £4.99 for me, do you have some special offer on it?

No idea, but was at 99p when I posted it. May have been a mistake and they inadvertently changed it, as today it’s one of the deals of the day

10 minutes ago, Stejay said:

My most recent reads have been Station Eleven, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, and I’m currently reading Project Hail Mary. I also ashamedly like throwaway stuff like the Alex Cross and Jack Reacher books. I’m guessing comedy or something non-fiction may be the way to go as more podcast like.

 

I’m currently tempted by Jerry Seinfeld’s Is This Anything? and @Timmo’s suggestion of A Short History of Nearly Everything.

I bounced off the Seinfeld audible offering, so couldn’t recommend that unless you’re a real fan. 
 

I’d go for John Higgs’ Stranger Than We Can Imagine. Far superior than A Short History for my money and helps you to reappraise how you look back on the 20th Century. 

33 minutes ago, pledge said:

Little surprised this is a fairly positive thread, I thought it was pretty dismal. The gimmick only worked in that it tricked me into watching it.

I'd agree. It's mildly diverting and full of inane plotholes with some astoundingly dumb decisions at some points. 

Stephen King's The Institute is 99p. 

36 minutes ago, christaylor said:

Watched the first ep of the latest Last Chance U yesterday. Definitely getting diminishing returns now, didn't feel like there was a single likeable character among them, not sure I'll take it any further. 

I watched the whole thing as it's ideal fodder for when I'm on the treadmill. Coach Rob is great and I think you'll rethink him by the end. The playing staff definitely aren't as memorable or easy to warm to this time around. I'd agree it's not as compelling as the first series though. 

Roberto Martinez is likely to be the next Portugal manager. With the degree to which he fails upwards, I’m surprised he’s not a Tory front bencher.

1 hour ago, joemul said:

Anyone else jonesing for the mothly kindle books post??

It’s not my tardiness this time; they haven’t dropped yet. Amazon are still running the 12 Days of Christmas promo. 

1. Expected Goals by Rory Smith. Discusses the explosion of data analysis on the Premier League, as Moneyball influences clubs to look at alternative approaches to player recruitment. If you has a reasonable interest in football and/or data analysis I think you’d enjoy it. Some good tales of the initial sniffiness and suspicion towards data and how some of our most maligned managers (Pulis, Allardyce, Redknapp) were amongst the standard bearers of this new approach whilst my team’s manager, Brendan Rodgers was more dismissive than I would have thought. 4/5

First one of my planned reads down. 
 

2 hours ago, Gabe said:

Nobody thinks most owners are saints, but I think there is a definite difference between cutthroat owners making dodgy deals/being terrible people versus an being run by an actual regime and the power and reach that has.

I’m pretty chuffed with Leicester’s owners. Pumped millions into the city, especially the hospital and even more into regenerating the area around the King Power. Think they spent £100m+ on our new training facility.  Every year they give the fans free food and drink (pints and mince pies at Xmas for example). Top also seems very well liked by the players and staff. 
 

Having said that, he’s a billionaire. And you don’t get to be one of those without screwing someone along the way, so I’m aware he’s not all sweetness and light. But he’s amongst the best in the Prem. 
 

Dear oh dear. Dewsbury-Hall injured in the warm-up and then Soumare substituted after 8 minutes, so two of our three starting midfielders are off. Fulham all over us and Mitrovic has inevitably scored.

5 hours ago, Sane said:

Well amazon refused to give me the credit. They first made me give them all the order numbers, then said the promotion was only valid for single purchases over 15 pounds, then said hotukdeals is a fraudulent website and they would only accept an email from amazon as proof this promotion existed (I didn't get an email saying the offer was activated, did anyone else?).

Maybe send this to them? I didn’t get an email confirming the deal once I clicked on it but this was on the email I received when they sent me the £5. 

@Benny, I've submitted my votes, when do you need any write-ups/explanations for our votes? 

I'm going for 40 again. This year, I've largely chosen what they are going to be as well, although I can see a few changing as other titles are reduced and new titles come out. Think this might stop me procrastinating over what title in my huge Kindle pile of shame to tackle next. A real mixed bag in there. 

Here's what I've settled on for now. I'm currently reading (all begun in 2022) The Gallows Pole by Benjamin Myers, Expected Goals by Rory Smith, Maybe I Don’t Belong Here by David Harewood and The Every by Dave Eggers. 

4 minutes ago, Stejay said:

Where can I find this? I can get 25% cashback on Kindle books too until the end of the month with Lloyds Everyday Offers.

You had to spend £15 by the end of a December to get £5 credit. It comes up 3/4 times a year so there’ll be another offer along soon. 

I received the email one minute after I made my final qualifying purchase. 

22 hours ago, Timmo said:

Ivan did an AMA, some pretty interesting stuff.

 

https://reddit.com/r/TheTraitors/comments/zwe03p/im_ivan_faithful_contestant_on_the_traitors_uk/

A lot of AMAs are pretty mundane and anodyne but that's a really good one. Despite limitations, he does give really decent, intelligent and fleshed-out answers. Well worth a read for anyone who hasn't bothered yet. 

The Ascent had a map that was one hot mess. Got so fed up with it that I stopped playing it. 
 

Hard to navigate, multiple levels with no real differentiation in the way they were displayed etc.