What book are you reading?

[Andejar]

Ark Angel by Anthony Horowitz and the sharpe books

[Craterus]

Tragically I Was An Only Twin - Peter Cook

[Kralizec]

The Peloponnesian War, by Donald Kagan
Foundation's Edge, by Isaac Asimov
The Clan of the Cave Bear, by Jean M. Auel (a gift)

[ajaxfetish]

Just finished Peyton Place for my American Pop Culture class. Definitely the most moving book I've read in years. The combination of high quality writing and a willingness to deal honestly with issues that make people uncomfortable even today was at the same time disturbing, enlightening, and satisfying. I'm not sure how to express it. It's amazing to me that this was written in the 50's, when husband and wife each had their own twin bed and so on.

Ajax

[Fragony]

The Clan of the Cave Bear, by Jean M. Auel (a gift)

Geez Krazilec, why do you have to emphasise it was a gift MUHA, a not so bright yet pretty hot girl I know was lyrical about the existance of prehistoric oral sex :laugh4:

Reading 'The selfish gene', absolutily awesome.

[Kralizec]

Geez Krazilec, why do you have to emphasise it was a gift MUHA, a not so bright yet pretty hot girl I know was lyrical about the existance of prehistoric oral sex

I'm still at page 120 or so, no oral sex so far (or I missed something). Probably a good thing as the main character hasn't even hit puberty at this point :sweatdrop:

I was expecting very little of it, but it's not bad actually.

[Stig]

Just finished Fall Braun/de Strijd om Kapelsche Veer (doubt it's translated into English)

Now I'm only reading books for my study:
Nederland in de Prehistorie
and The elements of Archaeological Conservation

damned much

[Kralizec]

Study books don't count :whip:

[Stig]

They do if they make sure you don't have time for other books.

[Aenlic]

Reading 3 books currently:

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman - great storyteller. This is a sort of sequel to the amazing American Gods. Gaiman, by the way, wrote the screenplay for the still in post-production movie Beowulf.

The Tyranny of the Night - first in a new series by Glen Cook.

The Ecology of Freedom: the emergence and dissolution of hierarchy - by Murray Bookchin. Non-fiction. A political treatise on hierarchies in political systems and an examination of anarchist thought on governmental structures.

[Incongruous]

Othello and 1984.

[Shabbaman]

I'm reading Knife of dreams, by Robert Jordan. It's book 11 from the wheel of time saga, and somehow I was hoping that it was finally time for Tarmon Gaidon, but I'm near the end of the book now and it feels like I have to wait for book 20...:help:

[SwordsMaster]

Addicted to War by Jon Steele. I recommend it although it is no War and Peace. It is still quite a revealing read for all our collective capitalist mindsets.

[Scurvy]

You don't have to be evil to work here, but it helps - by Tom Holt, very funny
:clown:

[AggonyDuck]

I've been lately reading War & Peace and it has definately been worth the effort. Tolstoy's writing is wonderful and it raises many thoughts for the reader. Great book. :yes:

[AntiochusIII]

Trudging through Les Miserables, slowly and surely. Right on the eve of Waterloo.

And having a beyond-awesome kick from a Great Teacher Onizuka (manga). Schoolyard dramas from teachers' perspectives never get this good...or this funny. And that genius girl Urumi sure is a captivating character.

[Marshal Murat]

False Gods (DoW40K)
Galaxy in Flames (DoW40K)

[Beirut]

I'm my Amazon order ever gets here I'll be re-reading Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (1884) by Edwin Abbott. Very interesting little book about life and love in one, two, and three dimensional space. Amazon had it for $2.25. Gotta love it.

Ordered Machiavelli's The Prince as well. A good one to have on the shelf and refer to during spousal arguments.

Had both books before but they were destroyed in The Flood at my old house. The hot water tank downstairs sprang a leak, only noticed three days later. Thought the municipal water was low on pressure again. Happened all the time. When I went into the basement (outside access only) there was 18" of water and hundreds of my books stored in boxes became nothing but sponges. Including two years of Janes Defence Weekly issues and four or five of the big Janes reference books, at $200 each.

:bigcry: What a massacre.

[Craterus]

The Republic.

[Mouzafphaerre]

.

JRR Tolkien, HoME v.4, The Shaping of Middle-earth
Various translated selections from Ibnu'l-‘Arabī, particularly a well-made one by İbrâhim Aşkī Tanık and a very badly made one by M. Kanık
Turgut Cansever, İslâm'da Şehir ve Mîmârî


slowly advancing:


Süleyman Nahîfî's (XVII. C.) marvellous in-verse translation of Mewlana's Methnewī
Ahmed Avnî Konuk's translation and sherḥ of the Methnewî
Ahmed Avnî Konuk's translation of Fīhi mā fīh
Bits and pieces from Sa‘īd Nursī's Lem‘alar


whenever I find full albums:


Zagor


:book2:
.

[pevergreen]

Anything written by Raymond E Fiest.

Currently finishing the Serpentwar Saga for the third or fourth time.

On: Shards of a Broken Crown

[Beefy187]

Anything writte by Darren Shan.

If you like nice twists and cliff hange. Its the best fantasy book around after Harry Potter

[Warmaster Horus]

Harry Potter Seven (Rowling) and The Gallic Wars (Caesar). One I read for about an hour each day, the other I read about an hour and a half.

And because Beefy reminded me... Soon I'll start the Demonata Saga again.

[Ramses II CP]

God is not Great (Christopher Hitchens): Vitriolic and circular, but still interesting and full of ascerbic humor.

Slowly rereading Darwin's Dangerous Idea (Dan Dennet): A little outdated now, but still densely packed with interesting concepts and analysis.

Working my way through the Black Library's Omnibus collection (Warhammer books) for fun, fast books. On a pure price per page consideration they're hard to beat and most of the stories are entertaining.

:egypt:

[Viking]

I finished the 11th The Wheel of Time book some months ago (now I really hope I'll be able to read the last book one day, considering that Robert Jordan is now dead). Time to move on to Lord of The Rings now I guess, which I have not read yet. :beam:

[Vuk]

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Edward Gibbon

[Conradus]

Just finished 'Mostly Harmless' Douglas Adam's last Hitchiking book, and I'm now reading the last in the Deathgate series from Weisz en Hickman.

[shlin28]

Hehe, rereading the Horus Heresy series. Warmaster Horus should find it interesting...

[Warmaster Horus]

Oh I do. I'm waiting for the next episode, which I'll likely get for Christmas. Dan Abnett really started the series well, IMO, and Graham McNeill continued it well too.

On topic, I've finished HP7, so now I'm concentrating on The Gallic Wars.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

The Ball is Round-A global history of football.

I heartily recommend it to anyone else interested in the greatest sport in the world.

[Csargo]

Elizabeth I CEO:Strategic Lessons From The Leader Who Built An Empire

[Cheetah]

Ken Binmore: Playing Fair

[The Wizard]

I am currently juggling:

- A History of the Arab Peoples by Albert Hourani
- Rome & Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations by Martin Goodman
- Empire: How Spain Became a World Power 1492 - 1763 by Henry Kamen
- Whirlwind by James Clavell
- The Habsburg Monarchy 1809 - 1918 by A. J. P. Taylor

Suffice to say, it's taking a while. ~;p

EDIT: I'm also supposed to be reading Israël achter de schermen: Zionisme op een dwaalspoor by Salomon Bouman as well as Dubbelspel by Frank Martinus Arion (Dutch Antillian literature), but I haven't opened either in half a year or more.

Meanwhile, the only books I'm reading real actively are the two for my study: Vrijheid en Rede: Geschiedenis van Westerse samenlevingen 1750 - 1989 by Bert Altena (my professor) and Dick van Lente, and The Pursuit of History by John Tosh.

[Geoffrey S]

Couple of real nice books in there. Dubbelspel is excellent.

Currently reading (as coursework for the first semester...)
- Global Transformations,David Held a.o.
- Global Capitalism, Jeffry Frieden
- The Middle East and Central Asia: an Anthropological Approach, Dale Eickelman
- A Vision Unfulfilled: Russia and the Soviet Union in the Twentieth Century, John Thompson
- Writing History: Theory and Practice, collection of articles
- A Concise History of the Middle East, Arthur Goldschmidt (first half is good, modern history is rather biased imo)
- The Origins of the Modern World, Robert Marks
- The Enduring Vision: a History of the American People, number of authors

...and a number of articles and books for an essay on the SU in the Middle East.

For myself, Dalek I Loved You by Nick Griffiths. Almost done.

[Motep]

Dragons of a Vanished Moon, book three of the war of souls trilogy. By margaret Wies and Tracy Hickman.

(again...):embarassed:

Also, just finished the odessey for school (sadly we are expected to be reading it in class for another few weels. I have more spare time then now, and thus get very bored when I forget my book.)

Nezt book to read: Book one of The Deathgate Cycle (cant remember the name...I have it in my basement somewhere...)

[shlin28]

Gave up rereading Horus Heresy, currently reading A Darkling Plain by Philip Reeve :yes:

[woad&fangs]

I used to read a lot but English classes killed my love of reading. So far the only new book I've read for fun in the last 2 years was the 7th harry Potter book. I'm now trying to get back into reading for fun. Just started Wicked by Gregory Maguire.

[Matt_Lane]

Redcoat, The British Soldier in the Age of the Horse and Musket by Richard Holmes. I got into it after reading some of the threads in ETW. Its not bad but at times it does feel a bit like a string of quotes which makes it harder to follow the point his trying to illustrate. I would say its worth a look if your into this period of history.

[woad&fangs]

Just finished Wicked. Wow, just wow. It really got into peoples basic personalities and how their cultures and the way other people treated them affected how they turned out to be. In the end I ended up disgusted with how all of the characters turned out to be but I understood how they got that way. Not always the best writing but he did a great job with the characters. I highly recommend it.

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

Leopold I of Austria, John.P Spielman

[Ayachuco]

The Lost German Slave Girl by John Bailey

[Motep]

Finished dragons of a vanished moon couple days ago, started Dragon Wing, book 1 of the death gate cycle.

To read list:
Death Gate cycle (2-7)
Darksword Trilogy (1-3)
Elenium (1-3)
Tamuli (1-3)

Who knows what the hell Ill read after that.

[The Wizard]

On the subject of fantasy, after I finish my current load of books, I still need to read The Bonehunters and Reaper's Gale from the Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson.

Also, I can't wait for A Dance With Dragons by George R. R. Martin and The Aspect-Emperor by R. Scott Bakker.

[doc_bean]

De 70 wonders of China - Dutch translation
(http://www.amazon.com/Seventy-Wonders-China-Jonathan-Fenby/dp/0500251371/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-5997994-5918239?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193509591&sr=8-1)

[Caius]

1984 by George Orwell, finished it.

[edyzmedieval]

Clive Cussler - Treasure of Khan (almost finished)
Clive Cussler - Raise the Titanic!
F. Holt - Thundering Zeus - Hellenistic Bactria
G. Holbl - History of the Ptolemaic Empire
Agatha Christie - Halloween Party (almost finished)

Nevertheless, I spend a lot of time reading books. :yes:

[Mouzafphaerre]

.

JRR Tolkien, HoME v.4, The Shaping of Middle-earth
Various translated selections from Ibnu'l-‘Arabī, particularly a well-made one by İbrâhim Aşkī Tanık and a very badly made one by M. Kanık
Turgut Cansever, İslâm'da Şehir ve Mîmârî


slowly advancing:


Süleyman Nahîfî's (XVII. C.) marvellous in-verse translation of Mewlana's Methnewī
Ahmed Avnî Konuk's translation and sherḥ of the Methnewî
Ahmed Avnî Konuk's translation of Fīhi mā fīh
Bits and pieces from Sa‘īd Nursī's Lem‘alar


whenever I find full albums:


Zagor


:book2:
.
.
+ Samuel Butler's Iliada translation. Greek names with Latin and Anglicized spellings suck but it's OK otherwise. :book2:
.

[Decker]

1984 by George Orwell, finished it.
Heh, I'm reading that for english class right now. I'm at the part where Winston is supposedly in the ministry of love. Orwell wrote one heckuv a book. It's quite a trip.

[drone]

Started into Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson. Enjoyable so far, but quite thick. :rolleyes: It's going to take me a while to finish the whole trilogy.

[Conradus]

Currently reading Crime and Punishment by Dostovjevski.

[Tratorix]

Just finished The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell. Excellent in my oppinion, now i have to track down the next two in the trilogy. I've now started on Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson, but it's not holding my interest very well.

[Ayachuco]

I just bought Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler: The Age of Social Catastrophe and will begin reading when I have time. :book:

[Xehh II]

Rainbow Six, Tom Clancy

[Hepcat]

I was doing some revising for my history exam on New Zealand history and I found this really interesting account of pre-colonial New Zealand written by Frederick Maning, who arrived here in 1833 and became what's known as a Pakeha Maori (A white person in the early 19th century who learnt Maori language, customs and lived with Maori). If anyone is interested here it is:
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-ManPake.html

Well I think it's interesting anyway, even if nobody else does! :tongue2:

[R'as al Ghul]

Started into Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson. Enjoyable so far, but quite thick. :rolleyes: It's going to take me a while to finish the whole trilogy.

You are in for a great ride, mate. I envy you.
This is one of the best books ever. I immensely enjoyed it. Don't let yourself be put off but some lenghty parts you'll be rewarded with thrilling and hilarious action once Jack Shaftoe appears.
I think it's an excellent mixture between swashbuckling action, renaissance science and diplomacy. There's so much in there, other authors would've written 10 books about the same subjects, half of them non-fictional.
The last chapters are among the greatest I've ever read (pay attention to the shift to present tense). Careful though, you won't be able to lay down the book until you know what happens to Jack.
Meh, I lack the words to elaborate on its greatness.
Can you tell I enjoyed it? :beam:

R'as

[drone]

You are in for a great ride, mate. I envy you.
This is one of the best books ever. I immensely enjoyed it. Don't let yourself be put off but some lenghty parts you'll be rewarded with thrilling and hilarious action once Jack Shaftoe appears.
I think it's an excellent mixture between swashbuckling action, renaissance science and diplomacy. There's so much in there, other authors would've written 10 books about the same subjects, half of them non-fictional.
The last chapters are among the greatest I've ever read (pay attention to the shift to present tense). Careful though, you won't be able to lay down the book until you know what happens to Jack.
Meh, I lack the words to elaborate on its greatness.
Can you tell I enjoyed it? :beam:

R'as
I've read Cryptonomicon (thoroughly enjoyed), so I know his style. I like how he is apparently using ancestors of his characters from that book in this one. Haven't read any of his other novels, so I don't know if this is something he does on a regular basis. I also love the way he weaves his characters in with historical figures (and shows their quirks as well).

[Csargo]

Iron Kingdom:The Rise and Downfall of Prussia 1600-1947 by Christopher Clark

[Meldarion]

Marquis De Sade ~ Justine, Philosophy in the Bedroom, & Other Writings.

[AggonyDuck]

Just finished The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell. Excellent in my oppinion, now i have to track down the next two in the trilogy. I've now started on Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson, but it's not holding my interest very well.

You just need to keep on reading Gardens of the Moon. At first I was struggling with it, but after reading about half the book I was already captured in the web that Erikson spins. His way of writing takes a while to learn to enjoy, simply because the world he has created is so extensive and full of details.

[shlin28]

Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose :yes:

[R'as al Ghul]

I've read Cryptonomicon (thoroughly enjoyed), so I know his style. I like how he is apparently using ancestors of his characters from that book in this one. Haven't read any of his other novels, so I don't know if this is something he does on a regular basis. I also love the way he weaves his characters in with historical figures (and shows their quirks as well).

I enjoyed Cryptonomicon, too. Great book. Captivating. Remember the awesome storyline of that Japanese soldier who shipwrecks, makes it to a cannibal island, manages to escape and later has to dig the mines? That's nothing compared to the adventures of Jack, though. It gives me gooseskin when I think about it. :laugh4:
I really enjoyed meeting those historical characters like Newton, Huygens, Leibnitz, Zar Alexander, etc. MacArthur was also quite hilarious in Cryptonomicon. Wasn't he refusing to take cover from enemy fire?
I'm actually considering reading Quicksilver again. If you want to exchange ideas, feel free to PM me. (How far into the book are you?) I haven't yet met someone who also read it.
I also read "Snow Crash" and "The Diamond Age". The Shaftoes and Enoch Root only appear in Cryptonomicon and Quicksilver (1-3) as far as I know. Maybe you have seen it yet, but Stephenson has his own Wiki. Don't spoil yourself, though.
Enjoy your ride.

R'as

[Craterus]

The Pig That Wants To Be Eaten by Julian Baggini

[shlin28]

Lord of the Silver Bow by David Gemmell

[ShadesPanther]

Imperium by Robert Harris

[seireikhaan]

Just read Siddhartha by Herman Hesse for my world religions class. A rather dry read, I must say, though it was interesting at times due to the philosophical nature of the book.

Also, just starting on The Red Badge of Courage, for a different class.

[Sigurd]

You just need to keep on reading Gardens of the Moon. At first I was struggling with it, but after reading about half the book I was already captured in the web that Erikson spins. His way of writing takes a while to learn to enjoy, simply because the world he has created is so extensive and full of details.
I am currently reading the fantasy genre.
I put Trudi Canavan to the test earlier this year and I must say that her two triologies are great.

After talking to Spartakus in the chat, he mentioned two authors I should try. I just put down Steven Erikson's Gardens of the moon and I must say; what a great book. At first I found it a little nerdy (nerdy as in the kind of guys playing D&D in costumes in a basement), but then it got easier and at the end I couldn't put it down.

I brought home two new books today: Deadhouse Gates by Erikson and A game of Thrones by George R.R Martin.
I might read the Erikson book first as Gardens of the Moon is fresh in memory.

Other authors I have read in this genre: all books by Raymond E. Feist and the 11 books of late Robert Jordan's the Wheel of times.

[Shahed]

I've read my fair share of military history, philosophy, fiction etc. Now I'm focusing on more real time things, practical applications.

I'm reading "The Game" by Neil Strauss, 2nd time. Studying it rather.

[shlin28]

Shield of Thunder, next book in the Troy trilogy :beam:

[Tratorix]

I brought home two new books today: Deadhouse Gates by Erikson and A game of Thrones by George R.R Martin.
I might read the Erikson book first as Gardens of the Moon is fresh in memory.

I just read Gardens of the Moon recently as well. Quite interesting, though i'm still not completely sold on Erikson's style of writing. It just doesn't grab me that easily. A Game of Thrones is one of my favourites. With most books, I can usually kind of predict what's coming next, but George R.R. Martin's writing keeps me off balance all the time. Never know what he's going to do next, and if you think you do your probably wrong.

Now readin Enemy of God by Bernard Cornwell and Faith of the Fallen by Terry Goodkind.

[Caius]

I read 1984 of George Orwell, I like it a lot.

[master of the puppets]

the dogs of war

[King Henry V]

The Liar by Stephen Fry.

[IrishArmenian]

Your Brain on Music by Daniel J. Levitin
And, how odd, Garcilaso, I was just reading Huxely's Brave New World.

[Beirut]

Crete, by Anthony Beevor.

Beevor wrote Stalingrad, and Berlin. Stalingrad was an excellent account of the battle. Read it a few weeks ago. Haven`t read Berlin yet, but soon.

Been looking for a book on the WWII battle for Crete for a long time, very happy to find this one, and since Beevor wrote it, it`s going to be good I`m sure. Probably one of the most ferocious and exciting (if one is to use that word) battles of WWII. This is sure to be a page turner.

Also saw a book called White Death, about the Russian-Finland war. That one will be soon, too. I forget the authours name, though.

Nothing better than finding the exact book you want. (Especially when you have a nice bottle scotch to keep the pages warm.) ~:smoking:

[Martok]

Just started reading Foundation's Fear by Gregory Benford. It's the first book in the so-called Second Foundation Trilogy written after Asimov's death.

I forgot there were parts of this book I actually liked, and that Benford doesn't completely suck as an author. Guess I'll have to upwardly revise my opinion of him slightly from "Completely & Utterly Loathe" to "Feel Nothing but Contempt & Disdain".....

[seireikhaan]

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, by Tolkien.

[Decker]

Crete, by Anthony Beevor.

Beevor wrote Stalingrad, and Berlin. Stalingrad was an excellent account of the battle. Read it a few weeks ago. Haven`t read Berlin yet, but soon.

Been looking for a book on the WWII battle for Crete for a long time, very happy to find this one, and since Beevor wrote it, it`s going to be good I`m sure. Probably one of the most ferocious and exciting (if one is to use that word) battles of WWII. This is sure to be a page turner.

Also saw a book called White Death, about the Russian-Finland war. That one will be soon, too. I forget the authours name, though.

Nothing better than finding the exact book you want. (Especially when you have a nice bottle scotch to keep the pages warm.) ~:smoking:
You should also look at A Frozen Hell which also covers the Russo-Finnish War if your interest is peaked!

As for me... I'm currently reading Sea of Faith: Islam and Christianity in the Medieval Mediterranean World by Stephen O'Sheafor my history class (and also for myself). It's a very easy read and enjoyable along with the descriptions of 7 major battles between Christians and Muslims dating back to Yarmuk in 636 and ending with Malta in 1565.

I was in the middle of reading Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys who fought the Air War against Germany by Donal L. Miller. I have to say that Miller did an excellent job in covering the air war since before the first bombs were dropped to wherever I stopped due to school lol. But I'd suggest anyone to read it if they are looking for a good book on that aspect of the war (World War Two I mean).

[Veho Nex]

Moby Dick.... and the great gatsby.... school sucks

[Beirut]

You should also look at A Frozen Hell which also covers the Russo-Finnish War if your interest is peaked!


Thanks. I'll check out some reviews. I'd like to get the better of the two books (obviously). I'm not looking for a 1000 page thesis of the war, but I'd certainly like to read more than I have.

[Gregoshi]

I just finished reading Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. Overall an okay read, but when I got to the part in which you learn why books are burned and the disfunctional society - wow, my mouth must have been hanging open. It is hard to believe it was written in 1953 and not in today's world. ~:eek:

[Quirinus]

I'm currently not doing much extracurricular reading because my exams are coming, but what I am reading at the moment:

--Atonement by Ian McEwan
--Rubicon by Tom Holland
--Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett
--First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough
--Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
--Epigrams by Marcus Valerius Martialis

I'm rereading First Man in Rome and Rubicon, but all the others are new. Martial's Epigrams I'm not so much reading as just going through a few every day before bed. Really quite amusing, some of them.

I don't actually read all that much-- I just like to read in 'batches' of books from different genres. Each batch takes about 2-4 weeks to go through, depending on how busy I am. I am currently going through another Rome-mania. =P

[Fragony]

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud, bit like Harry Potter from a demon's persective, great fun. Yeahyeah I know but I like stuff like this.

[Motep]

I am on the third book of the elenium by David Eddings.

To Read:
-Death Note (9-12)
-Tamuli (1-3)
-Saiyuki (1-?)
-Tsubasa (3-?)

[The Wandering Scholar]

Quirinus, Colleen McCullough is a great writer.

[Gaius Scribonius Curio]

At the moment I'm rereading Caesar's Women by Colleen McCollough, although my friends just lent me a fantasy book called The Name of the Wind, which looks fantastic, not sure who the author is (although its a debut book anyway, and I'm not at home to check).

[CountArach]

I just started reading Homer's Odyssey for University.

[Quirinus]

Quirinus, Colleen McCullough is a great writer.
^^ Right you are.


At the moment I'm rereading Caesar's Women by Colleen McCollough, although my friends just lent me a fantasy book called The Name of the Wind, which looks fantastic, not sure who the author is (although its a debut book anyway, and I'm not at home to check).
Just curious, what is the book, in chronological order, after Fortune's Favourites? Is it Caesar's Women?


To Read:
-Death Note (9-12)
-Tamuli (1-3)
-Saiyuki (1-?)
-Tsubasa (3-?)
Manga! If that counts, other than the weekly Naruto and Bleach, I am currently reading Hikaru no Go like crazy, even though I have exams. v_v

[The Wandering Scholar]

Just curious, what is the book, in chronological order, after Fortune's Favourites? Is it Caesar's Women?



First Man in Rome
Grass Crown
Fortunes favourites
Caesar's Women
Caesar
The October Horse


Hmm I think that is the order, although why would you learn of his women before him? :inquisitive: No actually swap Caesar and Caesar;s Women around :P

[Geoffrey S]

Alice in Sunderland, by Bryan Talbot. Very curious.

[Mouzafphaerre]

I just started reading Homer's Odyssey for University.
.
The original or which translation? :inquisitive:
.

[King Henry V]

I recently polished off Bill Bryson's very amusing account of his journey around Great Britain, Notes from a Small Island, and will soon be wrapping up "Molvania: A Land Untouched by Modern Dentistry" before devoting myself entirely to the long list of books which have to read and re-read for my exams in August which are as follows:

In French:
Une Vie by Guy de Maupassant (yawn!)
L'Ingenu by Voltaire
Britannicus by Racine
Manon Lescaut by Antoine Prevost
Les Justes (The Just Assassins) by Albert Camus
Le Spleen de Paris by Charles Baudelaire

In English:
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell

In German:
Der Besuch der Alten Dame by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Sansibar, oder der letzte Grund by Alfred Andersch
Peter Schlemihl by Alexander von Chiassimo.

[Gaius Scribonius Curio]

The Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCollugh progresses as such:

The First Man In Rome
The Grass crown
Fortunes Favourites
Caesar's Women
Caesar
The October Horse
Antony and Cleopatra

And yes I do own them all so I am sure!

Hope that helps, Quirinus.

[Gregoshi]

I...
In French:
.
.
.
In English:
.
.
.
In German:
...
Show off! :tongue:

~:pat:

[Decker]

Thanks. I'll check out some reviews. I'd like to get the better of the two books (obviously). I'm not looking for a 1000 page thesis of the war, but I'd certainly like to read more than I have.
The reviews that I've read stated reading both gives one a great perspective on the war and the author of Frozen Hell does apparently mention your book as a source and both are considered to be the top works of that particular war.

[King Henry V]

Show off! :tongue:

~:pat:
Ah, what can I say, the woes of having a trilingual education!:juggle2:

[Good Ship Chuckle]

Just finished 1984 by George Orwell.
Some people say that today's society is turning into the government dominanted society that George Orwell predicted in 1949, when he wrote it. :book:

[shlin28]

Julius Caesar by Adrian Goldsworthy :book:

[Good Ship Chuckle]

I take it you are a RTW fan, then?

[SwordsMaster]

Right now, just these.

F.Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment

J.P.Sartre, Nausea

Those two are quite dense, so nothing else for the moment.

[Gaius Scribonius Curio]

Just started De Bello Gallico so I felt like it deserved a mention!

[CountArach]

My Latin text folders...

[The Wandering Scholar]

I would love to learn latin but what is it used for now?

[CountArach]

I would love to learn latin but what is it used for now?
Reading ancient texts.

[Conradus]

I would love to learn latin but what is it used for now?

It's the official language of the Vatican:surprised:

[Duke Malcolm]

I was in the middle of reading an interesting book from a friend on the Irish Home Rule movement from 1800-2000, but forgot to take it home when term finished. Reading American Psycho, which rarely leaves my side, and the Book of Mark, for an exam next month...

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights: From the Winchester Manuscripts of Thomas Malory & Other Sources
by John Steinbeck

:book2:

Most unfortunately he never completed the work. :shame:
.

[Martok]

Even though I only have one book left in the second Foundation Trilogy, I had to take a break. Am currently reading Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man by Tim Allen. It's light, fluffy, and hilarious. :beam:

[Beirut]

Finished Anthony Beevor's book Crete about a week ago. It's about the WWII battle for the island. Highly recommended. Not just as a history of the battle, but a rocking story.

Reading the first half of The Prize : The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power, by Daniel Yergin. Excellent book. Read the second half first a few weeks ago; post WWII to OPEC. Now reading the first half, from the early 1850s in Pennsylvania to Rockefeller and Standard Oil. About to read the WWI portion of the book. Looking forward to it. A huge, incredible story.

[Kralizec]

I've started to read God Emperor of Dune for the second (or was it third?) time. The first time I read it I didn't really enjoy it until about halfway through, but now I think it's great. I guess being older makes you appreciate Leto II's cynicism more :yes:

[Martok]

....And now I'm back to reading Foundation's Triumph (by David Brin). It flows better than the other two books, but I'm still glad this is the last one. :sweatdrop:

[Viking]

Started reading LOTR. It's number two of the Norwegian translations. This one is in Nynorsk and features words rarely spoken anywhere anylonger. The hobbits, orcs etc. all speak different dialects. Found it pretty sweet; don't know what other translations or the original English version are like.

Admittably, I do not read much, though I finished all of the eleven books in the Wheel of Time series in a few months. ~;)

[Togakure]

Taipan by James Clavell.

[Big_John]

the dark ages by asimov: meant for children, very quick and enjoyable reading, though i suspect the history is a bit dated, and the PoV isn't exactly neutral. just started this.. up to the kingdom of toulouse. apparently isaac asimov wrote a series of histories. i'll have to check out the other ones.

nazism: a history in documents and eyewitness accounts ed. by noakes & pridham: a fascinating and definitive history of the rise as fall of the nazism. two volumes, about 60-70% is historical documents/accounts. just started this.. only up to ~1923 thus far.

the peloponnesian war by tritle: small book, just finished it. good and informative. has a short (20 page or so) overview of the conflicts writen by tritle, and then some more specific history of greece at the time as well as thucydides' explaination of the war.

the oxford history of ancient egypt ed. by shaw: what you'd expect from an oxford history. not exactly exciting, but very informative. though it does cover a huge timespan, so it glosses over some things. just jumping around in this one at the moment.

the roman emperors by grant: short (3-4 page) biographies of the roman emperors from 31bc to 476ad. too cursory on the well-known emperors, but interesting source of info for the lesser-known. jumping around.

someone comes to town, someone leaves town by doctorow: just finished it. often considered a masterpiece of modern sci-fi (a contemporary classic, if you will). i wasn't so impressed by it though. the book followed two stories (connected), one of which was interesting, the other not so much. this is the second book of doctorow's that i've read and i don't think i care for his style. specifically, doctorow's devotion to cyber-themes is tiresome (to me).

[Banquo's Ghost]

Just finished Norman Mailer's "The Castle in the Forest". Robustly written as ever, with an interesting conceit - the perspective of the demon responsible for guiding Adolf Hitler's childhood into evil.

Not ground-breaking, but thought-provoking.

[MilesGregarius]

The Imjin War by Samuel Hawley about Japan's invasions of Korea in the 1590s.

[Quirinus]

I just finished Warriors of God by James Reston Jr. two days ago-- it's about the Third Crusade, and specifically about Richard the Lionheart and Saladin. Pretty good read.

Finished rereading Anno Dracula by Kim Newman last week. It's definitely one of my favourite books. It's based on Bram Stoker 's Dracula, and speculates what might have happened if Van Helsing and company had not killed the Impaler in Chapter 21. Prior to the start of the book, Dracula went on to marry and turn Victoria, transforming London and England into a sort of haven for vampirism. The book features many characters, but I don't think more than five of them are original characters-- Newman draws interesting characters from real 19th-century London, as well as from contemporary 19th-century literature, cheesy vampire movies, and from is previous work.

For example, Florence Stoker, Arthur Holmwood, Lestrade and Henry Jekyll are important characters in the novel. Jack the Ripper also makes a prominent appearance, this time as a killer of vampire whores.

Definitely an interesting read, if you're familiar with 19th-century history and literature, Bram Stoker's book and/or vampire lore.


Right now eating through Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass. Good stuff. Pullman does a good job in depicting a world in which personal daemons are taken for granted almost like having a head are in our world. Lyra is a believable pre-adolescent-- she's clever, but she's also occasionally petulant.

[Mek Simmur al Ragaski]

I am currently reading 'Eagle in the Sky' by Wilbur Smith, but i have just finished 'River God' by him, aswell as 'Warlock', by him, 'Monsoon' by him, and 'Birds of Prey', by him. An interesting few books about people in Anxient Egypt, the gunpowder age and Africa, and a modern day war in Israel.

[Motep]

Book two of the Tamuli, by David Eddings. Good read.

[Mek Simmur al Ragaski]

Isnt david eddings the author who wrote the Mallorean series and the belgariad, they were good books:2thumbsup:

[Motep]

Yes, he is the author of those titles.

[Beirut]

Just got A History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucidites from a buddy.

He has hundreds of excellent books in his workshop/store. The only problem is many of them come from his very nice, but very often drunk ex-neighbour who would have a few snorts and then go mad underlining every third word in the book until she fell asleep. It's a bit distracting, but the the books are good and they're free.

Also picked up a hardcover Collected Short Stories of Mark Twain from him and a book Mark Twain wrote about writing and publishing.

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
Just finished John Steinbeck's most unfortunately incomplete "The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights". Too bad he stopped after the Lancelot & Guinevere following years of research, preparation and study, apparent from the letters printed with the book. ~:mecry:

A great writer, as well as a great man he is. :yes:
.

[Subedei]

"Genua aber war mächtig...." by ...I will look that up...

Basically it is a book dealing with the history of Genoa, esp. in the 11.- 16. century. I love books like this one, in which the author concentrates on one city, country....They open up the perspective of one folk on the world.....:book:

[Rolo]

Colleen McCullough's Rome Series: Extremely good, I would recommend them to anyone.

Roy Keane autobiography: Very informative and written well for an auto.

Neil Lennon autobiography: Not quite as good as the Roy Keane book but his early life especially is rather interesting.

CSC Celtic Soccer Crew: As with most football violence books In they can be quite graphic in places but overall it was fine.

[Raz]

Is anyone else reading the Tomorrow series by John Marsden? :inquisitive:

[Sigurd]

A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin.
The latest in his A song of ice and fire series.

I must say, a damn well written story that makes you seethe with emotion.
Some of the characters in this fantasy epic I would personally punch in the face if they were real. :yes:
If you love the medieval fantasy genre, Martin is unique... he is far beyond the cliché stories of his collegues.

A must read.
(A song of ice and fire cronologically:)

A Game of thrones
A Clash of Kings
A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow
A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold
A Feast for Crows

[rajpoot]

Just read L'Amour's Fallon, excellent as the rest of his books!

[Martok]

*Finally* finished up the second Foundation trilogy a few days ago -- I will not be reading any more Asimov (or related works) for a very long time now, methinks. ~;)

Just started reading Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore, which was his first book. I thoroughly enjoyed his novel Lamb (in fact I own it), so am looking forward to this one.

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
I took on W.H.D. Rouse's Odyssey translation after a long interruption filled in with Tolkien (The Lost Road aOW) and Arthurian legend (Steinbek's The Acts) and I've been thoroughly enjoying it. :book2:
.

[BananaBob]

I just ordered Anarchy, State, and Utopia by Robert Nozick and am trying to dig up my copy of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. I stopped reading the later because I cheaped out and got a smaller more portable version. The problem is, the font in the hand held thing is size 6, which is impossible to read.:laugh4: Guess I will have to go for the mammoth $40 version in a week or two.

[Quintus.JC]

Has anyone red the book 'Water Margin'/'水浒传'?

[Beirut]

Has anyone red the book 'Water Margin'/'水浒传'?

What's it about?

I'm reading The Collected Short Stories of Mark Twain. The man is a genius. Funniest stuff I've read in ages, perhaps ever.

[naut]

I picked up World Without End from the library, haven't started it yet.


and am trying to dig up my copy of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged.
You seriously want to read that book? :fainting:

[Quintus.JC]

What's it about?

.

Water Margin

[Mete Han]

I read of Maeglin from Silmarillion before going to sleep last night... I read Silmarillion like 6 times I guess in the last 6 years. But I guess I can never maintain a level of concentration to read the whole book again or the LOTR.

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
I read it three times from start to end and for unknown times segments. :book2:

Considering that I'm on Vol. 5 of the HoME, I'm an incurable Tolkien nerd. :yes:
.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

I'm reading George MacDonald Fraser's memoir Quartered Safe Out Here, written about his time as a soldier in the British/Imperial campaign in Burma during WWII. It's a very evocative and moving book, written with all the elan you'd expect from Flashman's creator (love those books too, read them if you have a sense of humour at all).

[Tristuskhan]

Carlo Levi's "Christo si è fermato a Eboli", french translation.

[CountArach]

"Failed States" - Noam Chomsky (Yes he has his fans :tongue: )

"Who was who at Waterloo - A biography of the Battle" - Christopher Summerville - Re-reading it.

And assorted textbooks, especially for Greek and Roman Myth and of course for Latin...

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
Still Rouse's Odyssey but I've received my Kalevala today! :jumping:
.

[Quirinus]

On the last chapter of Harry Turtledove's The Victorious Opposition. It's the third book in his American Empire trilogy, which is in turn part of his Timeline-191 meta-series where the Confederate States won the Civil War. It's a fascinating series, and I'm definitely interested in continuing to the next tetralogy in the chronology, but my local bookstore has the annoying habit of not stocking the first book of a series, so I'm stuck.

[Martok]

I'm currently about a third of the way through The Subtle Knife, the second novel in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy (the first novel being the better-known The Golden Compass).

I'm liking it so far, even though I find myself in a near-constant state of confusion -- scenes and chapters resolve unanswered questions, only to raise up more mysteries in their place. I also have to admit that I began to realize about 2 chapters ago just how much I'd underestimated the true scope of Pullman's overall storyline -- I have a feeling that where I currently *think* it's going will have little resemblance to where it actually ends up.

[pevergreen]

Just finished "Wrath of a Mad God" by Raymond E. Fiest.

AAGGGH It solves so many things!

One of three series I really do enjoy, other being the first lot of books by David Eddings, and the final being the "The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone" series by Gregory Keyes.

The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone's first book, The Briar King is holding the record for the longest time to read. Cold Mountain/For Whom the Bell Tolls/Various Asimov books did not take this long for me.

Its not boring, its just so complicated. I havent read the Wheel of Time, but apparently its kind of like that, mulitple storylines but I think its a lot better :laugh4: Maybe thats because i'm the only person i know thats read it...

[Geoffrey S]

Does anyone know the name of a series of books set in the afterlife? I remember snippets from ages ago, but not much. Several books, a whole bunch of famous dead people decide to find out why they are where they are and set off on a boat trip. Not much to go on, but that's about all I remember.

[Sigurd]

Just finished "Wrath of a Mad God" by Raymond E. Fiest.

It is out?? *Runs to the bookstore*

I have read all of Feist starting with Magician and just love his work.
If you like Feist, you will love George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Go and rent the first one at the library if you are not sure you want to spend money on unknown books. A Game of Thrones is the first one.

[Beirut]

Just back from the Big City. Picked up Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger. Supposed to be a very good book about WWI trench action. Been looking forward to this one for several months. (Also have The Real War, a book about WWI by Liddell Hart coming in the mail from Amazon this week. Yes!)

Also picked up:

Plato's Republic (Really nice copy for $12.)
Plato's The Trial and Death of Socrates
On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
Walden & Civil Disobedience by Thoreau
The Second Treatise of Government by Locke

I have a big civil rights fight coming up and I needed some eloquent backing. :toff:

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
Kalevala and a couple of Le Morte d'Arthur editions as well as Tolkien HoME vol. 5 have been given a break along with the serious books in Turkish that attempted to enter my reading world once again, taking advantage of the warmer seasons' arrival and some happy incidents -though I managed to complete two- and I'm reading The Lord of the Rings again, let me see, the fourth time. :book2:
.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Human Smoke by Nicholson Baker. I'm almost finished it now, and phew, eye opener. It's brilliant in the sense that it is unvarnished by the author - it consists completely of quotes and the contexts in which they were written. The author is a pacifist, but other than the choice of quotes and some inflections in some of the language he uses while interpreting, he does not insert his own opinion into the book.

The result is outstanding - it questions common belief. Did the Japanese attack out of the blue, or did America pull a Bismarck? Was the bombing of Coventry an act of German barbarism, or was it a simple retaliation, for which due warnings were offered? In doing so, Nicholson Baker presents a truly accurate view of the war. There was evil everywhere.

[Martok]

Just started Good Ice by Forrest Peterson. He's actually a local guy; he and my dad went to school together. Way too early to tell yet whether I'm going to like it or not, though.

[Decker]

I just finished reading Animal Farm. Was a good book.

And now I'm beginning to read The Face of Battle and Hell's Gate: The Battle of the Cherkassy Pocket. I'm looking forward to both.

[Martok]

Just finished Killing Rommel by Steven Pressfield two days ago. Another fine effort from him, although in my personal opinion it's not quite up to the standards of his previous works (most of which have til now been set in the ancient Greek world). Still an enjoyable read overall, however.

Have now started Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb, her first book in the Farseer Trilogy (which is itself the first of her three Realm of the Enderlings trilogies). I've got all nine books loaned to me from a friend, so I'll be at this for a little while. :beam:

[Kralizec]

Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov.

After this I'm going to read his Robot and Empire series, if I can find them.

[Conradus]

Just finished Frank Herbert's The Jesus Incident and started in Marquez' 100 years of solitude -or whatever is the English name of that novel

[TevashSzat]

Have to do some reading for school. Am starting The Picture of Dorian Grey atm and have to get through Frankenstein later too

[woad&fangs]

I finally got around to reading Shogun. Just 900 more pages to go until I finish.

[naut]

The Overcoat, Nikolai Gogol, just started it.

[Motep]

Fruits basket #2. It is funnier than hell.

[Innocentius]

After about a year of mostly Russian authors (Leonid Leonov highyl recommended) intermingled with the occasional "other classic" (Nietzsche, Zola etc), I've just started reading Sartre's Nausea. Too early to tell whether it's good or bad just yet, but since I tend to dislike philosophical works, and existensialism in particular, I think I'm going to hate it.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen. It's really good, and seems to point out a lot of the problems in American US History courses, and more specifically textbooks. I think the AP US course at my school probably was fairly good, but this book still points out a lot of problems shared both by the course and the textbook that we used.

Plus it's endorsed by Howard Zinn!

[Craterus]

Pretty soon, I'll be reading Beyond Good and Evil. Possibly Thus Spoke Zarathustra too. And also maybe some of Sartre's stuff too. Probably not Nausea though. More likely Existentialism Is A Humanism.

[CountArach]

Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen. It's really good, and seems to point out a lot of the problems in American US History courses, and more specifically textbooks. I think the AP US course at my school probably was fairly good, but this book still points out a lot of problems shared both by the course and the textbook that we used.

Plus it's endorsed by Howard Zinn!
That was in the recommended readings of one of my many Punk Band CDs, always a good guide :2thumbsup: . Oh, as is the Howard Zinn endorsement.

I'm reading re-reading a couple of Noam Chomsky books, as well as the Second Book of the Wheel of Time By Robert Jordan. given that he died fairly recently I sort of thought of it as my duty.

[Fragony]

I'm reading re-reading a couple of Noam Chomsky books

Who would have thought :laugh4:

Rereading 'Wild Swans' here I forgot how amazing it is. China is a cruel cruel place.

[CountArach]

Who would have thought :laugh4:
I know - surprising huh? :wink: :laugh4:

Actually I started re-reading The Communist Manifesto again this morning for like the 7th time...

[Motep]

Reading the Drizzt stuff from Forgotten realms. Good stuff.

[Craterus]

Having another shot at Stalingrad by Beevor. Seems easier the second time around.

[Dutch_guy]

Just finished Imperium, by Robert Harris, and Julian by Gore Vidal. Both were excellent, I'd definately recommend them to anyone remotely interested in the periods.

Anyway, should start reading guns, germs and steel, by Jared Diamond, soon.

:balloon2:

[Martok]

Just finished Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb earlier this evening, which also means I've completed the Assassin's trilogy.

Not sure what I make of Ms. Hobb. Her books are enjoyable enough that I don't have to force myself to read them, but there does seem to be something....lacking in her writing style. Can't put my finger on it yet.

Well, I'm reading her Liveship trilogy next, so I'll have plenty more material to figure it out. ~;)

[Hosakawa Tito]

I've just started The Princes of Ireland (http://www.curledup.com/princesi.htm) by Edward Rutherfurd. I've enjoyed his other historical fiction titles, and this one should keep me occupied for a bit (800 pages).

[Conradus]

Just finished reading Herbert's Lazarus Effect and started in Goodkinds Phantom

[Martok]

I've just started The Princes of Ireland (http://www.curledup.com/princesi.htm) by Edward Rutherfurd. I've enjoyed his other historical fiction titles, and this one should keep me occupied for a bit (800 pages).
I've seen that book lying about in libraries for a while now. I've been tempted to pick it up a few times, except that it seems to be the first in a series thats not finished yet (I generally avoid reading series until the last book is actually available).

[Hosakawa Tito]

Yeah, I picked it up from the bargain bin for $6.98 (originally $30-$35 when first published in 2005). I've read other books by this author and have liked them. Considering the length of the story the next installment might be out in 2009.

I see the sequel, The Rebels of Ireland, has been released in 2007. The price may have come down on that by now. I'll have to check it out and see if there's another in the works.

[Fragony]

Currently reading The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, american civil war goodness.

[naut]

Finally dragged my way through The Iron Wall, Avi Shlaim, having started over a year ago.

[Lemur]

The Triumph of Caesar (http://www.amazon.com/Triumph-Caesar-Novel-Ancient-Novels/dp/0312359837/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218981859&sr=8-1) by Steven Saylor. Book 401 in his Gordianus the Finder series. The first one, Roman Blood (http://www.amazon.com/Roman-Blood-Novel-Ancient-Novels/dp/0312972962/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218981919&sr=8-1), rocked me like a hurricane, and I keep reading his books hoping they'll be like that again. They never are.

[Mount Suribachi]

Just finished I, Claudius and am on Claudius the God. A multitude of blessings on the local library ~:)

[Martok]

I abruptly put Ship of Magic (by Robin Hobb) on hold for now -- I'm feeling a little saturated by fantasy novels at the moment. Instead, I've started Star Trek Myriad Universes: Echoes and Refractions. I normally don't go for the mirror universe novels, but this one looks rather intriguing.

[Martelus Flavius]

Well two things :

- L'amour à Rome (Love in Rome) by Pierre Grimal

- Antimémoires by André Malraux

:book:

Regards

Martel

[Tristuskhan]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varlam_Shalamov

The Kolyma tales, full edition. I read half of it six years ago and gave up (since I gave up travelling by train, odd reason but well...) All the fuss about Soljenitsin made me think about it again (and the fact that I take trains again, uh) and I resumed. Just to confirm the guy was a much better author than Soljenitsin. More straightforward and concise. The Kolyma tales are a gigantic kick in the **s.

[Motep]

I have returned to read the Wheel of time. Ah..smells like Trolloc. (I sure hope not...)

[CountArach]

I have returned to read the Wheel of time. Ah..smells like Trolloc. (I sure hope not...)
I'm now halfway through the second book on my re-reading.

[Motep]

I'm now halfway through the second book on my re-reading.


I just realised that my third book was destroyed in a flood...

Now I have to find something else to read...:cry:

[Lemur]

Just finished I, Claudius and am on Claudius the God.
Was this your first reading? If so, I'd like to congratulate you on having your mind blown.

[JR-]

Dreadnaught: Britain, Germany, and the coming of the Great War
Robert K. Massie

[Fragony]

Dreadnaught: Britain, Germany, and the coming of the Great War
Robert K. Massie

Good read.

Few pages into Defending the undefendable by Walter Block. Smart guy, steamroller logic.

[JR-]

i need to have a look at that.

[Craterus]

Started Beyond Good and Evil today. Read 14 or so pages before I decided my brain needed a break.

[JR-]

I have returned to read the Wheel of time. Ah..smells like Trolloc. (I sure hope not...)

i just 'read' the first six books as audio books, while playing age of conan non-stop for three weeks. :D

[shlin28]

Currently reading Dune: it is very confusing :dizzy2:

I had also read two other books in the last week:

The Da Vinci Code: Can't believe I have never read this before!

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: Great (and funny) sources on the Third Reich, but the author kept insulting the Nazi leaders at every available opportunity. The sources along should insult them enough.

[Lemur]

Dune is a great book, shlin. Herbert does close to no exposition, so your first read can be a little tough. Note that this laudable brevity disappears by book #3.

Finished The Triumph of Caesar. It never really got going. I may have to give up on this series. Moved on to Jane Mayer's The Dark Side (http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Side-Inside-Terror-American/dp/0385526393/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219692653&sr=8-1), which is exactly as depressing as you might guess it would be.

Interestingly, nobody from the Bush administration has bothered to refute the book, or even say it's untrue. Looks as though they're hoping it will go away if they just ignore it. Needless to say, Ms. Mayer has tons of on-the-record quotes and original documents. Depressing stuff.

[doc_bean]

Dune Volume 6 (don't know the English title).

Just read 5 after a long break from the series, doesn't have quite the impact of the older books anymore.

[Conradus]

6 is Chapterhouse if I'm not mistaking. Not as good as the first four, but still decent enough. 7 is an abomination and 8 too I suspect.

[Kralizec]

While the last two books were good in their own right I agree that they're the weakest of the series, especially Chapterhouse because it's so slow paced (I've recently reread the entire series) My favourite of all time is Dune Messiah of wich the only drawback is that it's so short.

And yeah, the new "dune" books are terrible. People should read one or two of them to make up their own mind about them but only after reading the originals.



Just finished reading Herbert's Lazarus Effec

I never read any of Herbert's non-Dune books. How good are they?

[CountArach]

Interestingly, nobody from the Bush administration has bothered to refute the book, or even say it's untrue. Looks as though they're hoping it will go away if they just ignore it. Needless to say, Ms. Mayer has tons of on-the-record quotes and original documents. Depressing stuff.
Welcome to my bookshelf :no:

Still working my way through the Wheel of Time, I read one of my favourite chapters last night, where the characters are in the fireworks factory. Really strange stuff.

I may re-start In the Name of Rome by Adrian Goldsworthy today, as well as reading some stuff for Uni.

[CountArach]

Bought the Penguin version of Livy's Books 31 -> 45 in the collection "Rome and the Mediterranean" today. I'll be reading this for quite a while, which will be a joy because it is my absolute favourite period of history, and one which I would like to go into much further study of.

[Kralizec]

I just bought The Complete Robot (short stories by Asimov) and The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro.

[Subedei]

Curently reading lots of books about and related to the Dodecanese http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodecanese.

I am really looking forward to a 2,5 weeks trip from mid Sept till Oct. there. Some diving, some hiking, some eating & drinking, some more reading about the area/ history (e.g. Genuese trading outposts, Ottomans, The Knights of St. John, etc.). Reading for planned tripps rules! :holiday2:

[Mount Suribachi]

Was this your first reading? If so, I'd like to congratulate you on having your mind blown.

Yes, although I watched the TV series a few years ago so I pretty much knew what to expect. I just finished it today in fact, and I am kind of glad. The endless plots, suicides and executions were really getting me down - I was quite depressed when I went to bed last night.

Enjoyable, but I prefer the Masters of Rome series.

[Ramses II CP]

Started Beyond Good and Evil today. Read 14 or so pages before I decided my brain needed a break.

I just want to say that IMHO this is one of the most readable and engaging works of philosophy around (Which is likely why it's so popular, and so often misquoted or abused in pop culture). Enjoy it, and whatever you do don't follow it up with Kant as is so often encouraged in college courses. Even the best translations of Critique of Pure Reason are eye gougingly difficult to bore through.

Whether Nietzsche was right or wrong he at least managed to have wit, wit which has been almost entirely lacking in philosophy since, and he may be all the more dangerous for it. :laugh4:

I just finished another run through the Foundation series, and I'm actually thinking about buying Benford and Bear's follow-ups. Anyone care to recommend or bash them?

Also almost to the end of Dennet's Sweet Dreams and not sure where I'll go for serious reading after that. Pinker's Stuff of Thought stuffed me up about 1/3rd of the way through, so maybe I'll go back to it.

:egypt:

[Motep]

The dark disciple trilogy my Margaret wies. Good read!

[Craterus]

I just want to say that IMHO this is one of the most readable and engaging works of philosophy around (Which is likely why it's so popular, and so often misquoted or abused in pop culture). Enjoy it, and whatever you do don't follow it up with Kant as is so often encouraged in college courses. Even the best translations of Critique of Pure Reason are eye gougingly difficult to bore through.

Whether Nietzsche was right or wrong he at least managed to have wit, wit which has been almost entirely lacking in philosophy since, and he may be all the more dangerous for it. :laugh4:

Ah no, I did Kant last year and thankfully didn't have to read anything then. Interesting ideas but I could tell he wouldn't be much fun to read.

Anyway, thank you for the advice :bow:

[Rhyfelwyr]

I'm reading "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, and I was meant to have finished it by last September. I have an exam (mock GCSE) on it on January 9th, so I need to finish it soon.

I read that for my Standard Grades as well. I think my class spent as much time watching the film version where Gregory Peck plays Attacus as we did reading the book.

Right now I'm reading... the Bible! Quick, evacuate the Frontroom! :laugh4:

[Martok]

Ugh. Had to put down Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb. Will probably come back to it eventually, but I end up hating most of her characters. She does too a good a job of making them "flawed" -- usually she overshoots all the way over to "unsympathetic". :no:

Am now reading A Burning House by Keith R.A DeCandido, a Star Trek novel about the Klingon Empire. He's quickly established himself as my favorite Trek author the last several years, especially when he writes about Klingons. :2thumbsup:





I just finished another run through the Foundation series, and I'm actually thinking about buying Benford and Bear's follow-ups. Anyone care to recommend or bash them?


No.

Wait, let me rephrase that: NO.


The books of the so-called "second" Foundation trilogy are bloody awful, with the first one (Foundation's Fear) the worst of the sorry lot. :thumbsdown:

Don't buy them. Don't check them out from a library. Don't borrow them from a friend. Don't steal them from a dumpster. Forget they ever existed.


I'm serious.

[Hooahguy]

"a bridge to far"
cornelius ryan

[||Lz3||]

skin -Ted Dekker

[Fragony]

JUst finished 'Lessons of Terror' by Caleb Carr, could have wrapped it up in an essay I think but it's a good book. Could have made it more juicy, call me nuts but when you talk of 'grave atrocity's or 'sickening cruelty' my uber-es wants to know what the hell it is they did, is like being allowed to sniff at a good meal but not being allowed to have a taste. Still fun to read how over time in (western) europe war became a gentlemen's game where civilians where increasingly less seen as valid targets, only to have terror tactics come back in full effect in WWII.

[Ramses II CP]

No.

Wait, let me rephrase that: NO.

The books of the so-called "second" Foundation trilogy are bloody awful, with the first one (Foundation's Fear) the worst of the sorry lot. :thumbsdown:

Don't buy them. Don't check them out from a library. Don't borrow them from a friend. Don't steal them from a dumpster. Forget they ever existed.

I'm serious.

Thanks, I should've figured. Between these and the way the Dune universe has been raped by prequels I fear for the future. Is there a 'Ringworld: Invasion of the Teela Clones' sitting around waiting for Niven to die?

Ye gods authors, protect your legacy!

:egypt:

[Big_John]

well, since my last installment in this thread, i've read a few books. mostly sci-fi.

quite a bit of robert charles wilson. it took a couple of books to realize his main theme that pervades everything he writes, apparently: vast alien/future technological networks, and the (usually initially unwitting) human interaction therewith. i read spin, a bridge of years, the chronoliths, and blind lake. spin is great. chronoliths is good. bridge is not bad. skip blind lake. all of them except spin are let down by their endings, which just kind of fizzle out. chronoliths is hampered by wilson's overuse of a boring character, but an interesting concept.

started reading a canticle for leibowitz by walter miller, but i got sidetracked. will return to it, what i read of it was generally well written and entertaining, but a little long winded.

flanders by patricia anthony is a great, great book. i suggest everyone to read it. the writing is top notch, and what other first world war book are you going to read? all quiet on the western front? been there, done that. only mildly fits into 'sci-fi'.. more like quasi-spiritual fantasy. the 'point' of the book is a bit maudlin, but it's actually not a very important aspect of the story, oddly.

the books that side tracked me from leibowitz are the song of fire and ice books by martin. i just started a feast for crows, after blowing through the first three. not great writing by any stretch, but not bad either, and martin keeps the reader captivated with the pacing and structure. i was a little weary after the third book (i sure i'm not alone there), but i'm soldiering on. right now, the main storylines i'm interested in are daenerys and maybe the wall. i've grown a bit tired of the hyperbolic plots and counter plots and schemes within schemes within plots of other scheming plots, etc of the lords of westeros. at this point i just want dany's drogons to fly over and melt all the lannisters, tyrells, greyjoys, baratheons, etc, etc into slag.

been reading some history too, but i'm done typing.

[Ser Clegane]

Just finished Irvine Welsh's "If You Liked School, You'll Love Work" - I especially liked the "Kingdom of Fife" story (although the "Scottish speak" takes some time to get used to :sweatdrop:)

Will start with John Irving's "Until I Find You" tomorrow on my way to work :yes:


right now, the main storylines i'm interested in are daenerys and maybe the wall.
You might be "slightly" disappointed with "A Feast For Crows" then and join the rest in waiting for the next installment :juggle2:

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
Tolkien's Letters, by H. Carpenter
.

[ajaxfetish]

I just finished reading '1984' for the first time, after somehow making it through an entire public education without facing it. I thought the writing was decent and the warning certainly timely, though it left me a little depressed (naturally) for awhile.

Ajax

[Ronin]

American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis

[Ironsword]

Pulp - Charles Bukowski.

It's absolutely wicked.

[Martok]

Thanks, I should've figured. Between these and the way the Dune universe has been raped by prequels I fear for the future.

Ye gods authors, protect your legacy!

:egypt:
Yeah, I'm appalled by what the second trilogy did to the Foundation series. Actually, the 2nd & 3rd books -- Foundation and Chaos and Foundation's Triumph -- by Bear & Brin (respectively) weren't that bad in and of themselves (although neither were they home runs). However, they suffered from being the "poisoned fruit" of the original "tree" (Foundation's Fear), and could not redeem Benford's crappy storytelling.

[Fragony]

American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis

That is one excellent book, I adore Bret Easton Ellis he is the american Houellebecq. Had to skip a few parts because it was just too much. I love a writer that just does.

[woad&fangs]

Is "House of Leaves" worth reading?

[Ramses II CP]

Is "House of Leaves" worth reading?

If you dig experimental fiction, sure. Personally I'll take less creativity in the page layouts and more in the writing. I prefer the less drastic stylistic oddities, like Irvine Welsh or Cormac McCarthy, to this kind of intentional, overstated attempt to needlessly confuse the reader. Either way start at the source (If you haven't already)! Faulkner. Absalom, Absalom.

(Okay, bias confession, I'm Southern.)

:egypt:

[Veho Nex]

The things they carried

[Meneldil]

Just finished Robin Hobb's whole Realm of the Elderlings serie (meaning "The Farseer" trilogy, "The Liveship Traders" trilogy aswell as "The Tawny Man" one, which is roughly equal to 21 books in France).

It's by far, with "A Song of Ice and Fire", the best Fantasy serie ever written in my opinion, though it has some flaws (the beginning of The Liveship Traders is kind of boring, and the ending of The Tawny Man feels like rushed).
I was actually kind of sad to close the book and think that all these characters I've learnt to love (or to hate) and to live with for all these weeks would just disappear. Sure as hell I'm going to read it a third time.
Robin Hobb/Megan Lindholm sure makes a great job creating living and credible characters, especially by describing all the flaws that plague the average human being (jealousy, fear, need for attention, stupidity). Some time I would just think "Oh well, FitzChivalry is definately almost as stupid and emo as myself" or "Okay guy, go and get her, or you're going to regret it for the rest of your life !"

I'm currently reading "Fever Dreams" by George R. R. Martin, and it looks quite nice aswell. The average vampire-ish story, in a cool and original background (a steamboat sailing on the Mississippi) and without the emo-crap and pseudo erotic touch that usually makes vampire novels boring as hell (hello Anne Rice !)

Once I'm done with it, I'm either going for Cloven Hooves (by Robin Hobb/Megan Lindholm) or 1984 in english (already read it in French a few weeks ago).

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Anyone read A Song of Ice and Fire? Is it any good?

[Martok]

Just finished Robin Hobb's whole Realm of the Elderlings serie (meaning "The Farseer" trilogy, "The Liveship Traders" trilogy aswell as "The Tawny Man" one, which is roughly equal to 21 books in France).

It's by far, with "A Song of Ice and Fire", the best Fantasy serie ever written in my opinion

No offense (truly), but remind me to never accept book recommendations from you. ~;p Anyone who thinks those books are the best fantasy ever written clearly has a different set of criteria of what constitutes good writing than I do. I honestly fail to see how either author ever managed to get their books published.

I managed to force myself to read the first two books of Martin's Ice & Fire series (A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings) before giving up. I can't stand most of his characters. The "bad guys" are mostly shallow, cookie-cutter villains with no interesting/redeeming qualities, and even the supposed "good guys" are generally some combination of Lawful Stupid/Stupid Good (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LawfulStupidChaoticStupid) who are too dumb to live (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TooDumbToLive). (Also, many of the good guys tend to be rather whiny, ala Luke Skywalker.) Tyrion Lannister and Jon Snow are about the only people I liked.

I am both bemused and appalled at the acclaim this series has received, and even more so at the fact it's being adapted for TV. :no: Why so many people think it's so great is beyond me. :dizzy2:



As for Hobb, I already decided a couple days ago that I'm not going back to Ship of Magic. Like Martin, in her attempt to create flawed characters, she overshot her mark; as a result, most of her characters are downright unsympathetic. Aside from Burrich and Chade in the first Farseer trilogy, I didn't even remotely like any of her other characters. It's a bad sign when I find myself wishing that the author's whole imaginary world would be destroyed -- heroes, villains, and all. :thumbsdown:





Anyone read A Song of Ice and Fire? Is it any good?
Heh. See my rant (above). I think I already said just about everything I could've. ~:rolleyes:

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Heh. See my rant (above). I think already I said just about everything I could've. ~:rolleyes:

Any good series along a similar vein that you can recommend?

[Fragony]

Is "House of Leaves" worth reading?

YES

It is genuinly brilliant. A descent into madness is the best way to describe it, it gets freakier and freakier and to use typography as a storytelling-device was the best idea since chunks in peanutbutter.

[Ramses II CP]

Any good series along a similar vein that you can recommend?

Have you read The Black Company books by Glen Cook? Fantasy series are not really my thing, but I remember reading some called Pelmen the Powershaper years ago that were pretty interesting.

Fantasy series authors tend, IMHO, to very often get caught up in a game of 'top my bad guy/crisis' from the last book, which makes for extremely predictable storylines. There are ample exceptions, of course, but that's the trend.

:egypt:

[Meneldil]

No offense (truly), but remind me to never accept book recommendations from you. ~;p Anyone who thinks those books are the best fantasy ever written clearly has a different set of criteria of what constitutes good writing than I do. I honestly fail to see how either author ever managed to get their books published.


The fact that most fantasy novels are actually poorly-written crap about some Zomg "Ub3r hero(es) fighting an even more Ub3r lord of evilness hidding in his Zomg-so-badass-castle" might explain why both Hobb and Martin's series got that much coverage.

I mean, from LotR to The Whell of Times, from D. Edding to G. Cook, the fantasy genre, while entertaining, is kind of subpar. Most of the times, main characters are so bland that you've the weird feeling they're just a copy&past of another book. Most of the time aswell, you can guess the ending after a few hours of reading.

Do Martin's characters sometimes seem whiny ? Yeah, sure, but at least, they are living, unlike the average Aragorn-like fantasy hero.
Are Hobb's character sometimes unpleasant ? Yeah, but that's why I loved almost all of them so much. FitzChivalry is about as egocentric, stupid, naive and emo as I am. The same thing goes on for most of these characters. They have flaws (and some of them are even real bastards ie. Kennit), but I've grown tired of the "Chivalric guy who's trying to reclaim his kingdom while fighting teh evil dude".

So yeah, I you have a decent fantasy book to recommend to me, go ahead, 'cause as of now, bar LotR, and Robb/Martin's book, I've yet to read a fantasy novel in which I was living and hoping with the main characters.

(Not that fantasy novels are all crap, I had a good time reading most of them, but I also forgot most of them because they weren't that great).

[Ironsword]

Just finished Robin Hobb's whole Realm of the Elderlings serie (meaning "The Farseer" trilogy, "The Liveship Traders" trilogy aswell as "The Tawny Man" one, which is roughly equal to 21 books in France).

Agreed Menedil; I quite enjoyed the farseer trilogy, but the tawny man trilogy was disappointing in my opinion. There were a lot of characters that weren't fleshed out enough, and the narrative seemed to plough relentlessly through the Fitz/Fool plot, at the expense of all the more intriging subplots.


I mean, from LotR to The Whell of Times, from D. Edding to G. Cook, the fantasy genre, while entertaining, is kind of subpar.

I agree with your overall sentiment that not all heroes should be square jawed, a demon with a sword and swing off into the sunset with the smokin' elf maiden...

But I don't think you can call Lotr, the book that catapulted fantasy to the mainstream, sub-par! ~;)

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

Anyone know any good History books I could read?:clown:

[Warmaster Horus]

Look at this (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=70698) list. It's the EB bibliography, with plenty of history books in it.

This (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=107077) thread has several users proposing historical novels - the difference being that it's fiction based on history.

[Ironsword]

Anyone know any good History books I could read?:clown:

The best historical book I've read recently was Agincourt by Juliet Barker.

[Martok]

To be honest, I've not actually come across that many fantasy books set in fictional worlds that I felt were truly decent -- I've read some that I liked okay, but few have been good enough that I felt warranted actually purchasing. For me at least, the Lord of the Rings and Wheel of Time series are among the few exceptions that prove the rule.

Unless you also count Star Wars, in which case I will admit to liking several (and owning) several novels. My favorites are Timothy Zahn's first trilogy (featuring the popular Grand Admiral Thrawn) and Michael P. Kube-McDowell's Black Fleet Crisis trilogy. :2thumbsup:


Oddly enough, I find that overall, I seem to prefer historical fantasy novels that take place in the "real world" more than those set in fictional universes. One example would be some of Judith Tarr's works, which I admit I rather enjoy even though her books tend to distort history to an extent that even Rome Total War cannot aspire to. ~;p

Far and away my favorite author in this sub-genre, though, is Stephen R. Lawhead. He likes to set his stories in early medieval Wales and/or Ireland, and often includes the theme of Celtic mythology & magic mixing with that of Roman Christianity. He's probably best known for the 5 books -- 6 books if you include Avalon -- of his Pendragon Cycle, an (obviously) Arthurian epic which I find to be superb. I also strongly recommend his Celtic Crusades trilogy, as well as the stand-alone novel Byzantium.



Anyone know any good History books I could read?:clown:
Which era(s)? Real or fictional?

[Veho Nex]

The things they carried Tim O' Brien

[Csargo]

King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild

[Fragony]

Nice fellow huh, great book though.

[Hosakawa Tito]

I am just now reading "Patriot Pirates" by Robert H. Patton. It's about the privateer:pirate2: war during the American Revolution. I never realized how effective this naval, mostly private enterprise, guerilla war on British shipping was. Whereas the Continental land army was all about not losing and avoiding pitched battles, these privateers really kicked the Brits where it hurt. A good read for those interested in the history of this time period. move over Hornblower

[Lemur]

King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild
Maybe the most depressing book ever. And that's a big title with stiff (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiasco_(novel)) competition (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Wish_to_Inform_You_That_Tomorrow_We_Will_Be_Killed_with_Our_Families).

[CountArach]

For All Mankind by Leon Blum.

[Tratorix]

Stephen King's IT. Clowns don't scare me... yet. :candle:

[Martok]

Stephen King's IT. Clowns don't scare me... yet. :candle:
That's because you haven't seen the mini-series. (Couldn't sleep for two nights straight after that....) :fainting:

[Fragony]

Maybe the most depressing book ever. And that's a big title with stiff (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiasco_(novel)) competition (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Wish_to_Inform_You_That_Tomorrow_We_Will_Be_Killed_with_Our_Families).

Try this it's much more complete;

http://www.amazon.com/Scramble-Africa-Conquest-Continent-1876-1912/dp/0380719991

The bible of that sick history and it reads like a novel.

[edyzmedieval]

Thank you for Smoking by Christopher Buckley.

Hilarious. :laugh4:

[shlin28]

I went through a reading spree this month:

Dune by Frank Herbert - Poor beginning, great middle to end.
Northern Light by Philip Pullman - Pretty good, can't believe I never read this before.
The new Artemis Fowl book - Yay for fairies! :clown:
Superior Saturday by Garth Nix - Yay for weird people in a strange house!
Fatherland by Robert Harris - Great book, will probably read Engima or Imperium next.

and now "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins - Too simple for my taste, I've read about most of the arguments before so its not really interesting for me. (I have read the Bible so half of the arguements he used I already used on my friends anyway :yes:)

[Koga No Goshi]

Right now I'm reading World War Z. I never thought I'd buy a book like this, as I do not tend to read things in the vein of "fanfics, spinoffs, etc." But this is a very uniquely written book. It basically takes the concept of a "zombie apocalypse outbreak" having already happened and being dealt with, and then puts together an oral history of interviews with survivors years later. It covers the globe and people from all kinds of jobs, positions and cultures. It's really interesting mostly in that regard, and how well he seems to have researched global politics and world cultures.

[Kralizec]

Just finished Leon de Winter's Recht op terugkeer, not a monumental piece of literature but good enough.

[Martok]

Am currently re-reading Patrick: Son of Ireland by Stephen R. Lawhead.

[Ronin]

Currently reading In Lust We Trust: Adventures in adult cinema - by Gerrie Lim

[Banquo's Ghost]

I'm currently half-way through "A Daughter's Love" by John Guy, which is a biography of Margaret More, the daughter of Sir Thomas More and his chronicler and moral support. Sir Thomas is a great hero of mine, and the book is a fascinating new perspective on his frailties and ultimate strength.

Highly recommended to students of the period.

[Ramses II CP]

Right now I'm reading World War Z. I never thought I'd buy a book like this, as I do not tend to read things in the vein of "fanfics, spinoffs, etc." But this is a very uniquely written book. It basically takes the concept of a "zombie apocalypse outbreak" having already happened and being dealt with, and then puts together an oral history of interviews with survivors years later. It covers the globe and people from all kinds of jobs, positions and cultures. It's really interesting mostly in that regard, and how well he seems to have researched global politics and world cultures.

Personally I was very unhappy with World War Z. It was highly recommended to me by a friend right after it came out last year so I bought it in hardback. I read it in two days during a vacation, and frankly the story struck me as even more outrageous than most zombie tales. The pace of it and the universality of it are just not credible.

Plus it's easier to write an interview novel than an actual story. Yeah, neat gimmick, but ultimately disappointing. I would've accepted that from a short story, but drawn out to novel length it got old and tasteless fast.

YMMV. :beam:

:egypt:

[Koga No Goshi]

Personally I was very unhappy with World War Z. It was highly recommended to me by a friend right after it came out last year so I bought it in hardback. I read it in two days during a vacation, and frankly the story struck me as even more outrageous than most zombie tales. The pace of it and the universality of it are just not credible.

Plus it's easier to write an interview novel than an actual story. Yeah, neat gimmick, but ultimately disappointing. I would've accepted that from a short story, but drawn out to novel length it got old and tasteless fast.

YMMV. :beam:

:egypt:

Well, as I said, this was the kind of book I'd ordinarily not buy. If it had been a straightforward plot based fiction novel on the same topic I probably never would have given it a chance. I was more interested in the style it was written in after friends told me about it, becuase I read a lot of compilations of oral histories and accounts in the non-fiction world. It might have been a "gimmick" on the author's part, I really don't know him and couldn't say, but I don't think it's gimmicky at all that this style is a very bottoms-up way to tell history, and record history.

[Hosakawa Tito]

I am reading "The Strongest Tribe" by Bing West.

[TevashSzat]

Had to read A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce for school. I must say.....it is one of the worst books I have ever read (worst would go to Billy Budd) It starts out okay I guess for early 20th century Irish literature, but as you got into 3rd chapter onwards.....it starts to drag very heavily. Just for reference, there is essentially a 13 page rant on how awful hell is and by the end, even my English teacher admitted that it was a bit tedious to read (and thats saying something).

[Craterus]

Reading The Social Contract by Rousseau.