What book are you reading?

[Craterus]

What book are you reading at the moment? It could have been a "YES RIGHT NOW!" thread, but books take a little longer to get through than songs, so you should only really need to post in this thread once a week (or longer).

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.

EDIT: This thread is also so I can see what books might be worth buying, so feel free to post some info about the book, or make recommendations.

[Ianofsmeg16]

"Can Cows walk down stars" by various scientists

a great book answering all of life's little questions, like the one in the title

[Ser Clegane]

"Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami

[IrishMike]

War and Peace by good old Leo

[Bar Kochba]

space odessey 2061 bu auther c clarke brilliant book

[Proletariat]

War and Peace by good old Leo

That would've been the best book ever written if Anna Karenina didn't exist. Is this your first time through W&P?

[Grey_Fox]

'The Letter of Marque' by Patrock O'Brian.

[Togakure]

Clancey: Rainbow Six. Just finished re-reading Taiko and Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa.

[Byzantine Prince]

I'm reading Bertrand Russell's Power.

It is an intense analysis of power is all its forms.

[Dîn-Heru]

Here be dragons by Sharon Penman. Historical fiction about King John and the welsh Prince Lewellyn (or something like that) and it is basically about medieval England and Wales centered around John's bastard daughter who is wed to the Prince of Gwynned.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

I was reading Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, but am now between books. By the way The Things They Carried is an extremely good book which is centered around the Vietnam War and things related to it like draft-dodging and readjusting to civilian life.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Couple of different things-Ranulph Fiennes's biography of Captain Scott, as well as Focault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco.

[Kanamori]

Critique of Pure Reason, Kant; and A New Essay concerning Human Understanding by Leibniz -- a pt. by pt. refutation of Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (actually just reading the bit on innatism).

[IrishMike]

That would've been the best book ever written if Anna Karenina didn't exist. Is this your first time through W&P?

Yeah first reading of it. Why so?

[Gregoshi]

Just finished re-reading Taiko and Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa.
I'm about 130 pages into Musashi. It is very good so far.:book:

[TheSilverKnight]

I'm reading "Osprey Essential Histories: Rome at War - Caesar and His Legacy". I just got it today, and it is very good so far. I'm in the Gallic Wars part :2thumbsup:

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Roman Warfare by Adrian Goldsworthy

Great book...a must get...:2thumbsup:

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Fever pitch (nick hornby)...crazy english people.

[scotchedpommes]

Just starting on The Plot Against America (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0099478560/qid=1136096890/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/202-1794344-4067826) by Philip Roth. Fail to see how
Amazon UK could class it as the 'perfect partner' for Bob Dylan's Chronicles (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743478649/ref=pd_bxgy_text_2_cp/202-1794344-4067826),
of all things. Don't intend to read through the latter to find out.

[Beirut]

The Arms of Krupp, for the second time. Excellent book on the development of artillery from the 1800s onward and gives incredible insights on German history.

[Proletariat]

Yeah first reading of it. Why so?

Simply curious. I loved the depiction of what an anachronistic curmudgeon was like during the 1850's Russia. The Bolkonski Father is definitely my favorite Tolstoy character.

Are you enjoying the book?

[Del Arroyo]

Cien Años de Soledad, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. For those of you who don't trust your Spanish, you can pick up a copy by the title of A Hundred Years of Solitude-- I have heard that the translation is quite good. An incredible book.

DA

[AntiochusIII]

Cien Años de Soledad, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. For those of you who don't trust your Spanish, you can pick up a copy by the title of A Hundred Years of Solitude-- I have heard that the translation is quite good. An incredible book.Yup. In my opinion a Hispanic equivalent of War and Peace; I read the translation, though. Don't know Spanish.

Both are glorious books -- "world class."

Right now? Ha! My intellectual self is soundly in hybernation ("half dead"). Might go and buy some books the day after tomorrow if I could. I need to look for some "serious literature."

[Kaiser of Arabia]

Just finished both Black like me and Anthem, and will start re-reading The Prince again soon.

[Del Arroyo]

Might go and buy some books the day after tomorrow if I could.

You could pick up a copy of Memoria de Mis Putas Tristes, in English under the title Memories of my Melancholy Whores or something like that-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez's latest. A very good book, and short (yay!). I've heard nothing about the translation, but I suspect it may be good enough.

DA

[GoreBag]

Focault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco.

Cool.

I'm reading Celts: History and Civilization by Venceslas Kruta. It's less of a text and more like a photo-documentary.

[King Henry V]

I'm re-reading Stephen and Matilda: the Civil War 1139-54 by Jim Bradbury (some of you may guess why), I just finished Enemy of God by good old Cornwell and reading bits of On War. I would also be reading the Pale Horseman by Cornwell again, but I forgot it at home. I'm supposed to read l'Ingenu by Voltaire, but I just forgot about. Philosophy and me do not mix.

[John86]

For school I have required reading (To Kill A Mockingbird) But in my spare time im currently reading The Enemy Within and Liberalism is a Mental Disorder (I love that title.)

[The Stranger]

eh, not reading but writing

Hungarian Chronicles
The rise and fall of a nation

[Geoffrey S]

Der Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse, and Ides of March by Thornton Wilder. Also sporadically reading Caesar's Civil War.

[Sjakihata]

The Double by Dostojevskij

[Slyspy]

I have two on the go. Non-fiction is Sahib by Richard Holmes. Fiction is The Hundred Days by Patrick O'Brian.

Have loads of books waiting in the wings (especially after Christmas). May have to psyche myself up for The Eastern Front, 1941-45, German Troops and the Barbarisation of Warfare!:help:

[Ludens]

"The Weekend Novelist" by Robert J. Ray. Someone told me it was an excellent book for someone with literary ambitions but little time. After reading (very slowly) through four-fifth of the book, I do not agree. But it does have some interesting points.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

At the moment I'm reading:

Franco-Prussian War: The German conquest of France in 1870-1871
by Geoffery (spelling?) Wawro.

The Art of War
by Sun-Tzu

[drone]

"Cryptonomican" by Neal Stephenson.

I picked up "The Running Man" by Richard Bachman/Steven King as a time killer at the DMV. About 60 pages to go, nothing like the movie, thankfully.

[Marcellus]

I'm just about to start Stalingrad (Beevor), as well as slowly reading 'Does anything eat wasps' (New Scientist) and a collection of the Onion from 2003-04.

[JimBob]

Stalingrad (Beevor)
Excelent book, if not mildly disturbing at times.

Right now I've got my face in alot. There's The Ecology of Freedom by Murray Bookchin, Desolation Angels by Jack Kerouac, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (on again off again), The Princeton Review's Best 361 Colleges (on again off again), as well as my continuous reading and rereading of On The Road, also by Kerouac. And more short stories and essays than I want to consider (have to read and analyze 10 of each instead of taking a final exam).

[Strike For The South]

American Spartans The US Marines combat history

and for fun Conapiracy Theories:2thumbsup:

[Brutus]

Uhm, Rituelen. Nieuwe en oude gebruiken in Nederland (Rituals. New and old customs in the Netherlands) by Jef de Jager, starting in The shadow of the wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, rereading (for the 3rd time) the appendices in The Lord of the Rings, and The Histories of Gregory of Tours (on and off for months now).


Maybe I should actually start reading again for my thesis as well...

[Dutch_guy]

currently reading Ceasar by Colleen McCullough, only just started so cant comment on it yet.

Also just read a book about the Nuremberg WW2 trials, by a Russian lawyer who was a spectator during the trials - Can't think of his name at the moment.
I liked the book, he gives a bunch of information on how the high ranking Nazi leaders behaved during the trial and gives good comment on how they tried to defend themselves and how the prosecution attacked those often feeble attempts.
Good read for those who are interested.

:balloon2:

[Reenk Roink]

Soldiers and Ghosts by J.E. Lendon. :book:

A magnificent read...

[Lemur]

Dutch Guy, I just finished Caesar (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0380710854/qid=1136262936/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/002-1921108-0913603?s=books&v=glance&n=283155), and I'd be interested to chat with you when you're done. The author just seems to be getting stronger as she rolls along. My $0.25 summation of the whole Masters of Rome series: Great historical detail, iffy hypotheses about major historical characters, mediocre writing. In other words, enough for me to keep reading. Not everything needs to be a masterpiece.

I'm currently reading Pride of Carthage (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385506031/qid=1136263059/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-1921108-0913603?s=books&v=glance&n=283155), mostly because it's the biggest Roman-era historical novel my local library had laying about. Entirely unsure of what I think of it. A few great passages, some really tedious exposition. And as always when reading a novel about Hannibal, the sheer lack of detailed knowledge about Carthiginian culture shines through. It's very different from reading about Caesar, where there's a plethora of ancient sources.

Anybody else slogging through big historical books?

[R'as al Ghul]

Clancey: Rainbow Six. Just finished re-reading Taiko and Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa.

I've also just finished Musashi and although it's good I was a
bit disappointed because of the style. I guess it's my german translation
because it reads as if it was translated 30 years ago.
I noticed a lot of paralells to Lone Wolf and Cub in the storyline.
It seems that LWaC was strongly inspired by Musashi.

I've also finished Neal Stephenson's trilogy "Baroque Circle".
I'd strongly recommend them. The best books I've read in 2005.

~:cheers:

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

I have two on the go. Non-fiction is Sahib by Richard Holmes. Fiction is The Hundred Days by Patrick O'Brian.

Have loads of books waiting in the wings (especially after Christmas). May have to psyche myself up for The Eastern Front, 1941-45, German Troops and the Barbarisation of Warfare!:help:


I had to bite my tounge to keep from laughing there. :laugh4:

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

At the moment I'm reading:

Franco-Prussian War: The German conquest of France in 1870-1871
by Geoffery (spelling?) Wawro.

The Art of War
by Sun-Tzu


Oh, and by the way, I also have these lined up to read next:

The Prince
by Niccolo Machiavelli

The Communist Manifesto
by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
LotR, The Return of the King :charge:
.

[Fragony]

.
LotR, The Return of the King :charge:
.

Well I'll be damned, after all the praise I gave Harry Potter you are still reading a tale about to youth-friends from a world full of fairy's that go to all sorts of trouble to climb a mountain with a bloody ring?

for shame!

[Dutch_guy]

Dutch Guy, I just finished Caesar (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0380710854/qid=1136262936/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/002-1921108-0913603?s=books&v=glance&n=283155), and I'd be interested to chat with you when you're done. The author just seems to be getting stronger as she rolls along. My $0.25 summation of the whole Masters of Rome series: Great historical detail, iffy hypotheses about major historical characters, mediocre writing. In other words, enough for me to keep reading. Not everything needs to be a masterpiece.


Anybody else slogging through big historical books?


So far after having read te first 80 pages of the book I'm starting to like it more and more, which is a good thing since the start of the book was rather slow.
This is my first book in the masters of Rome series and if all the books are like this one, keep getting better and better once you keep reading , then I might continue the series.

Though I should continue reading, can't really be certain considering I've only just started.

Thanks for the advice though Lemurmania.

Also I've just finished the 3rd book in the Emperor ( by Con Iggulden (sp ? ) series ( fiction novel about Caesar's entire life )which I enjoyed reading a lot.
Anyone else read the series. ?

I would recommend it if you like the era and don't mind a few historical changes for the sake of the story, and don't worry it's nothing major

:balloon2:

[Mouzafphaerre]

Well I'll be damned, after all the praise I gave Harry Potter you are still reading a tale about to youth-friends from a world full of fairy's that go to all sorts of trouble to climb a mountain with a bloody ring?

for shame!
.
That's the unspeakable films, not the books! :stare:
.

[Redleg]

Reading a Fanasty Novel now for pure recreational reading. To The Green Angle Tower, by Tad Williams

http://www.tadwilliams.com/angel_tower.html

My next reading will be a history book - just haven't decided which one.

[KukriKhan]

Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel http://www.wwnorton.com/catalog/spring99/gunsgerms.htm
Actually, picking it back up after a hiatus. Idaho recommended it, so I got it last spring; fascinating examination of how chance tech advances let some groups leap-frog others.

I hear someone made a TV presentation of it, but I've not seen it. I wonder if it was any good.

[Beirut]

Anybody else slogging through big historical books?

I posted before that I'm re-reading The Arms of Krupp. I think that qualifies. Great book.

By some insanity, I've lost my biography of W.T.Sherman by Liddell Hart in my 10x10 bedroom. You'd think that wouldn't be possible but it is. I was re-reading that one as well and was half way through.

When I'm finished with Krupp, and if I still can't find Sherman, I'm going to finally read Livy's The War with Hannibal which has been on my shelf for a year.

[master of the puppets]

just Sabriel, and Catcher in the Rye again.

oh yeah and i'm just finishing up "The Stand" great peice of work.

[aw89]

At the moment I am reading "Ivanhoe" by Sir Walter Scott. I got about 100 pages left, its quite good realy, although a quite heavy read.
But I am a fan of older english (100-200 years ago 'ish written) so it's rather a joy then a curse.

[matteus the inbred]

Burning Angel, by James Lee Burke. after that i will read the second part in an interesting mediaeval fantasy trilogy, The Wounded Hawk, from The Crucible Series, by Sara Douglass...

just read Tim Severin's (English readers may recall him as the adventurer and archaeologist who builds traditional Celtic boats and recreats insanely long voyages at great risk to life and limb...) first novel in a trilogy about Vikings, really good stuff, including a good treatment of the legendary battle of Clontarf.


Anybody else slogging through big historical books?
big historical books that i never managed to get through include somebody-or-other's (possibly Bertram Wolfe) biography of Henry VI...gah. too much finance...

[Prodigal]

<-----WW1 junky

The Unknown Soldier by Neil Hanson

The one book I'd recommend for some mental relaxation is Summer of night by Dan Simmons, damn fine fun.

Lemurmania, I gave up on pride of carthage, can you recommend something that's accurate in relation to carthaginian customs etc? A friends been raving about a book he found on it, but he's gone off to south america for 6 months without telling me the title or author

[Scurvy]

Nostradamus ate my hamster --> Robert Rankin, very funny :laugh4:

[Prodigal]

Nostradamus ate my hamster --> Robert Rankin, very funny :laugh4:
Can you pweeeease laugh with your mouth shut, the scurvy thang ain't purdy, & it sure as sheet ain't funny

edited cos I can't spell YOUR =P

[Scurvy]

Can you pweeeease laugh with your mouth shut, the scurvy thang ain't purdy, & it sure as sheet ain't funny

am i supposed to understand that? :dizzy2:

[jimmyM]

Picture of dorian Gray - Oscar wilde, or trying to finish...

also broggling round looking for Anna Karenina, sure it was round here somewhere...

[AggonyDuck]

Currently reading the Fall of Carthage by Adrian Goldsworthy and after it's time for Hans von Luck's memoirs. ~D

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
The Hobbit, 2nd time two weeks after the first. :book2:
.

[The_Doctor]

German Medieval Armies 1000-1300. It is an Osprey Book.

I got the following books for christmas:
German Medieval Armies 1000-1300
German Medieval Armies 1300-1500
Swiss at War 1300-1500
Medieval European Armies
Armies of Medieval Russia 750-1250
Medieval Russian Armies 1250-1500

I started with the Medieval European Armies book because it is very general and gave me a sort of introduction to the period.

[Dooz]

Don't know if it counts as reading, but I just finished The Ugly American. Absolutely wonderful.

[Lanemerkel1]

Dragon and the Raven by G.A. Hentry

[TheSilverKnight]

Gods and Legions by Michael Curtis Ford, about the Emperor Julian the Apostate

[Zalmoxis]

I'll start The Historian soon, maybe in a couple of days, anyone read it?

[Pindar]

That would've been the best book ever written if Anna Karenina didn't exist. Is this your first time through W&P?

This is neither correct for Russian literature nor literature in general. But, I still like you. ~:)

[Papewaio]

Reading a Fanasty Novel now for pure recreational reading. To The Green Angle Tower, by Tad Williams

http://www.tadwilliams.com/angel_tower.html

My next reading will be a history book - just haven't decided which one.

That is a good one, I read it about 10 years ago.

I'm reading the 11th book in the Wheel of Time... I should say I read the prologue then went looking for something that actually has pace to it.

Reading WoT was easy before as I used to read such a huge volume of works that WoT was a nice diversion from the others, now it seems to slow without the other ones to balance my book diet.

[Pindar]

I am reading: "Mongols and Mamluks : The Mamluk-Ilkhanid War, 1260-1281"

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521522900/qid=1136876460/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-1305775-0229557?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

[Samurai Waki]

A Game of Thrones

Brilliant Book by George R.R. Martin

[Meneldil]

A year in the merde, by Stephen Clarke

[master of the puppets]

"The Golems Eye", and "The Firm"

[Proletariat]

This is neither correct for Russian literature nor literature in general. But, I still like you. ~:)

I'm as uncultured as your next medical field-educated Philistine, but I always figured he was part of the Golden Age (http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/russian_literature/25698) of Russian Lit.

Do you consider Tolkein's work literature? (Yes, I'll get back to you on him at the private bidale, once I get a little more time)

[Mongoose]

Great Expectations. It's pretty boring so far. I'm hoping it will start moving a little faster soon. I'm at PG 5o so far.

[Sartaq]

Reading "The Coast Guard"

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0883631164/ref=pd_bxgy_text_b/104-8336426-4279110?%5Fencoding=UTF8



A Game of Thrones
Brilliant Book by George R.R. Martin
With a few exceptions, I'm rarely captivated by fantasy. GRRM is one of those exceptions. ~:)
He will need to do well on A Dance With Dragons, because his latest, A Feast For Crows, was hardly satisfying.

[Pindar]

I'm as uncultured as your next medical field-educated Philistine, but I always figured he was part of the Golden Age (http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/russian_literature/25698) of Russian Lit.

I would agree Tolstoy was part of Russia's Literary Golden Age, but I wouldn't put Anna Karenina as the best book ever written. I wouldn't even give it the best book honor for the 19th Century.


Do you consider Tolkein's work literature?

Yes.

[Mouzafphaerre]

.

Do you consider Tolkein's work literature?
I do. What makes them (re)readable is much more the literature than the content. :yes:
.

[ShadesPanther]

The Civil war and the wars of the Nineteenth Century by Brian Holden Reid.

A very good book with maps and drawings of the battles and of the countries of the time as well as pictures and drawings of the men and their equipment. I am enjoying it immensely as it deals with a topic I didn't really know that much about (I knew a bit but not much in depth)

[Fragony]

.

I do. What makes them (re)readable is much more the literature than the content. :yes:
.

Tolkien disagreed. He got a bit tired of people searching for references. It is a (fun) fairytale, no more no less. And I already explained why LOTR is more gay then all the gaping assholes in the world combined.

Soooooo how is Harry Potter doing :book: Now THAT is literature :P

[Mouzafphaerre]

Tolkien disagreed. He got a bit tired of people searching for references. It is a (fun) fairytale, no more no less. And I already explained why LOTR is more gay then all the gaping assholes in the world combined.

Soooooo how is Harry Potter doing :book: Now THAT is literature :P
.
References? :thinking:
Literature? :thinking:
Fairy tales? :thinking:
Gay? :thinking:

What's the matter? :stupid:

HP migh be great but it's not literature, it's marketing. LotR might not be great but it is literature, yet it is a fairy tale and it is gay. :inquisitive:
.

[matteus the inbred]

Tolkien hated people coming up with allegories based on LotR, even though there are some apparently obvious ones.

don't see how it can be gay though? Tolkien was a staunch Catholic, happily married and probably had no conception of 'modern' homosexuality. love and respect between male characters does not have to be 'gay'.

he does shortchange his women a bit though...it's a man's world in Middle Earth, a time when men were men and dwarves were...beardy. i always thought elves were a bit androgynous though.

people take so many things away from reading it though, that's why it's a great book.

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
Both of us are using gay literally here, not as a pseudonym for homosexuals.

Tolkien denies all allegories and firmly states that he himself doesn't like allegories at all in the preface of the LotR. With or without allegories, it's still literature. :laugh4:

ADD:
About women, glad someone else mentions it. :yes: He uses female characters sparingly, making those few who happen to be come out rather sharply. Almost all female characters are special ones. One or two ordinary exceptions, like the one at the Gondor hospital appear but I'm sure Tolkien wrote all his stuff in much more a lighthearted manner than we nerds read them, and the scarce and special women appearance came out naturally of his style and not of a strategic foreplanning. ~;)
.

[matteus the inbred]

oh, i see. i am guilty of modern inference on the word gay then! yes, in that sense it's very gay, although i would say the Hobbit is gayer, most of the songs and whatnot are very trivial and 'silly'. but then, he wrote that for kids.

it's certainly a fact that very few major male characters in LotR have a good woman behind them, and most appear never to have any relationships with women (just with each other, eh Fragony!). Sam's got Rosie and Aragorn's got Arwen, but other than that, nada. Although i think Denethor's behavioural development is explained as being largely due to his wife's death.

on the reverse side, Celeborn is irrelevant compared to Galadriel, he's almost written out in favour of his wife...

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
I completely agree with The Hobbit being gaier than LotR. Fit for kids of all ages. :2thumbsup: In either one, I love the man's poetry of all sorts. :singer:
.

[Divinus Arma]

1775

and

The Last Full Measure

and

Global Marketing

[Lemur]

Gods and Legions by Michael Curtis Ford, about the Emperor Julian the Apostate
I really, really disliked that book. I can't say why, either. It was sort of like a smarmy guest who wouldn't leave. The kind of guest who eats all of your crackers and cheese, and leaves the crumbs in the couch. You know the kind I mean.

I'll be curious to see if you have a more coherent reaction to that book than I did. Of course, in the canon of Imerial Roman Fiction, nothing's as bad as Hadrian's Wall (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060563710/qid=1137127643/sr=8-2/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-3135312-9430523?n=507846&s=books&v=glance), or as I like to think of it, "Dances With Celts."

[Arrowhead]

Sorry if someone has already posted these:The Last Legion by Valerio Massimo Manfredi, Spartan by Valerio Massimo Manfredi, The last kingdom by Bernard Cornwell and The pale horseman by Bernard Cornwell

[Craterus]

Sorry if someone has already posted these:The Last Legion by Valerio Massimo Manfredi, Spartan by Valerio Massimo Manfredi, The last kingdom by Bernard Cornwell and The pale horseman by Bernard Cornwell

I've read the first two of your list.

And don't worry about them having been already mentioned, it's what YOU'RE reading at the moment.
I'll be moving onto Boudica by Manda Scott when I get all my unfinished coursework out of the way (that could take a while).

[Csargo]

I'm reading All Quiet on the Western Front for the second time

And Great Expectations isn't going to get any better

[BDC]

The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins.

[Dutch_guy]

Sorry if someone has already posted these:The Last Legion by Valerio Massimo Manfredi, Spartan by Valerio Massimo Manfredi, The last kingdom by Bernard Cornwell and The pale horseman by Bernard Cornwell

I'm reading a book by Cornwell, it's called The Archer's Tale.

Have you read that by any chance ?

I'm about half way through and I'm enjoying it more with each page I read.

Though the way he writes is certainly different from other books I recently read.

:balloon2:

[littlelostboy]

I've just finished Reading "Put What Where?: Two Thousand Years of Sex Advice" by John Naish. Freaking hilaroious book. I got that as a Christmas present. Currently reading a Chinese novel (trans into Eng) "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" Its damn thick and I'm only at Vol 1.:sweatdrop:

[ajaxfetish]

The Dragon Rebory, #3 in the Wheel of Time

Ajax

[AntiochusIII]

Currently reading a Chinese novel (trans into Eng) "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" Its damn thick and I'm only at Vol 1.:sweatdrop:A Chinese novel? Teh Chinese Novel, that is! That book is like The One in many Asian countries, the door to China's most fascinating war, even though their National Epic(no s) is Rayamana of native variants. :2thumbsup: Liu Bei might as well become our next Prime Minister. He's the perfect politician. :laugh4:

I'm reading Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War, by Clive Barker. It's great, simple fun, without heavy literature weight. I'm not in the mood for philosophy right now, and won't be for a long while, no doubt.

Quackenbush!

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
LotR: The Fellowship :charge: (2nd time :book2:)
.

[matteus the inbred]

.
LotR: The Fellowship :charge: (2nd time :book2:)
.

have you sung the Tom Bombadil song yet? :hippie:

check out http://www.atomfilms.com/af/content/lord_rhymes for an 'alternative' take...

[Fragony]

Currently reading 'The eight'. My sister gave it to me. It is a complete ripoff of the already terrible Davinci code, and to make it even worse, it's translated into dutch. I have never seen a translation as bad as this one, it is like reading english in dutch, it makes no sense at all. It is really a very very bad book, horrible. It is obvious that is was written in the hope someone would make a movie out of it, atrocious. So why do I keep reading? Not sure, very bad things can be fun from time to time.

[Mouzafphaerre]

.

have you sung the Tom Bombadil song yet? :hippie:

check out http://www.atomfilms.com/af/content/lord_rhymes for an 'alternative' take...
:laugh4:

Bro is listening a metalish german group sometimes; they have neat songs based on The Hobbit/LotR themes.
.

[matteus the inbred]

and of course Led Zeppelin songs are full of LotR references, there's a web page on it somewhere...

[Ja'chyra]

Gardens of the Moon by Stephen Erikson (*sp??, bah who cares:dizzy2: ) I really like his books, there is so much depth and forethought gone into writing them, the guy must have some imagination. Third time reading this series I think.

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
LotR: The Fellowship :charge: (2nd time :book2:)

Silmarillion :book2: (arrived today :jumping:)
.

[Dutch_guy]

Silmarillion (arrived today )


Tell me what you think of the book, once you've started.

Been interested in the book for some time now, like to know what you think.

:balloon2:

[The Stranger]

The Rise And Fall Of Rome

and writing Lucky Number Seven and HC

[Mouzafphaerre]

Tell me what you think of the book, once you've started.

Been interested in the book for some time now, like to know what you think.

:balloon2:
.
OK. I'm only at Christopher's prefaces yet. :book2:
.

[mercian billman]

I just finished reading Ghengis Khan an The Making of The Modern World, by Jack Weatherford. Basically it's a revisionist history of Ghengis Khan and the Mongols in general and places them in a much better light then most history books. I'm no expert on the Mongols but I did find the book to be enjoyable and even if you disagree with the revisionism, the accounts of his childhood and young adult-hood were eye opening.

[Matrixman]

I've got a couple on the go....

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson - it won the 2005 Pulitzer prize for fiction. If you want a "different" sort of read...it's worth looking at. For a start, it's got no chapters (which I found hard to get used to at first) but more than that there's something unique about her style....she seems to achieve a sort of beautiful simplicity, but the level of insight and poignancy that jumps out made we want to read slower, and reread some passages.

The other one is one of Dean Koontz's - One Door Away from Heaven he's one of my favourite author's. For the genre, I reckon he's got pretty good depth, and always plants a redemptive theme through his nightmarish stuff!

:book: :book: :book: :book: :book: :book: :book: :book:

[AntiochusIII]

Just finished Les Trois Mousquetaires. Great, great book. Dumas was a genius. :bow:

[TheSilverKnight]

The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough

It's a Roman Republican novel about Gaius Marius and Sulla :2thumbsup: Very in depth drama, great descriptions, awesome atmosphere, I'm only on chapter 2 but I'd seriously recommend it :2thumbsup:

[Lemur]

Silverknight, I just finished that series. All eleven million pages, or however many it is. Me and Dutch Guy were talking about it earlier, if memory serves ... let us know what you think as you progress, if the spirit moves you ...

[King Henry V]

I'm reading a book by Cornwell, it's called The Archer's Tale.

Have you read that by any chance ?

I'm about half way through and I'm enjoying it more with each page I read.

Though the way he writes is certainly different from other books I recently read.

:balloon2:
It's called the Harlequin in English and it is a a good book (I like the time setting and thefact that the hero comes from the same place that I do). Highly recommend the Pale Horseman. Edington is his best battle yet, even though the characters are getting repetitive (see thread in the Mead Hall).

[TheSilverKnight]

Silverknight, I just finished that series. All eleven million pages, or however many it is. Me and Dutch Guy were talking about it earlier, if memory serves ... let us know what you think as you progress, if the spirit moves you ...

I still have quite a way to go! I'm reading "First Man in Rome" first, then "The Grass Crown", and then "Fortune's Favourites"...afterwards I start on the Caesar's ones ~D I'll let you guys know how it's coming. I'm enjoying it thusfar! :2thumbsup:

[Craterus]

I finally started Boudica by Manda Scott, but I'm only a chapter or two into it.

[Samurai Waki]

3/4ths of the way through: A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin, Brilliant read so far, however, I am sort of dreading reading A Feast for Crows as I heard, and someone here told me, it wasn't as good as the last three.

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
Ordered The Unfinished Tales. :jumping: It's mine next week, hopefully! :2thumbsup:
.

[Lemur]

I've moved on to light fare, something to balance out the technical things I have to read for work. Terry Pratchett is fitting the bill, just finished Thud, (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060815221/qid=1138422916/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-5383384-9824150?n=507846&s=books&v=glance) moving on to Men at Arms. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061092193/qid=1138423030/sr=1-30/ref=sr_1_30/102-5383384-9824150?s=books&v=glance&n=283155)

Like I said, I need a little break.

[Ludens]

I've moved on to light fare, something to balance out the technical things I have to read for work. Terry Pratchett is fitting the bill, just finished Thud, (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060815221/qid=1138422916/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-5383384-9824150?n=507846&s=books&v=glance) moving on to Men at Arms. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061092193/qid=1138423030/sr=1-30/ref=sr_1_30/102-5383384-9824150?s=books&v=glance&n=283155)
How did you like "Thud!"? I finished "Going Postal" two months ago, but it wasn't not nearly as good as "The Truth". Is "Thud!" an improvement?

[Lemur]

I think Thud is an improvement on Going Postal, but you know how it is. Pratchett just does his thing. His books are always better than they need to be, but they also seem to fall short somehow. I don't mind -- he makes the best light reading of any living author. When my brain needs a break, he's there for me.

[Sir Chauncy]

"Shadow (http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/shadow.htm)" by K J Parker

Quite interesting really, this Chappie wakes up with the standard Amnesia background story and travels about trying to find out what on earth has happened.

It is made staggeringly more interesting than it sounds because as he pops off on his little journey he seems to be mimicking that of an ancient fairy tale (that he knows nothing about) in which a God comes down to earth and without any malice intended, utterly destroys the world.

I heartily recommend it.

The review incidentally, may well contain spoilers, just read the first paragraph if interested, it pretty much sums up the book.

[Ludens]

I think Thud is an improvement on Going Postal, but you know how it is. Pratchett just does his thing. His books are always better than they need to be, but they also seem to fall short somehow. I don't mind -- he makes the best light reading of any living author. When my brain needs a break, he's there for me.
I see. Thanks for the answer.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

A Raymond Chandler omnibus. Can't beat those hard-boiled noir crime novels!

[Proletariat]

Rome at War AD 293-696 from the Essential Histories line of Osprey books.

[Sjakihata]

Right now, yes right now Im reading Descartes Meditations

[Somebody Else]

Iliad

[GoreBag]

I just picked up Trainspotting on Wednesday and already has it reminded me of the joy of needless vulgarity.

[Skomatth]

The Blank Slate: A Modern Denial of Human Nature by Steven Pinker (for fun)
Sorrows of a Young Werther by Goethe (for philosophy class)

[drone]

I just picked up Trainspotting on Wednesday and already has it reminded me of the joy of needless vulgarity.
That's a good book, but I found that I needed to actually read a lot of it out loud to figure out what was being said. Trying to decipher the Scottish accent and slang was tough for this Yank. :book:

[GoreBag]

That's a good book, but I found that I needed to actually read a lot of it out loud to figure out what was being said. Trying to decipher the Scottish accent and slang was tough for this Yank. :book:

Maist ay it no so bad after havin read Rob Roy MacGregor. Yeah, I sometimes need to read it in my...mind's ear, but that's part of the fun.

[Zalmoxis]

I'm reading Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account by Dr. (Duh) Miklos Nyiszli.

[TheSilverKnight]

Rome at War AD 293-696 from the Essential Histories line of Osprey books.

I just got finished reading that. What do you think of it, Prole? ~:)

[Voigtkampf]

Just finished Shusaku Endo's "Silence". I need more time to read, I work too much...:wall:

[Zain]

I'm read Tim Lahaye's book "Left Behind: The Indwelling" It's an awesome book.

-ZainDustin

[Csargo]

I'm reading Miracle at St. Anna by James McBridge

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Heinlein's Starship Troopers.

On the bounce!

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Starship Troopers is very good, "What you apes want to live forever!"

At the moment I am reading Century Rain by Alistair Reynolds. I'm not far into it, but like his other books it is very cryptic in the beginning and slowly begins to make more and more sense. I'd guess that I'm still a ways off from really understanding what is going on and how e4verything relates though.

[Zalmoxis]

I thought the apes quote was taken from a World War 1 seargent.

[littlelostboy]

I currently stopped reading "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" because another book caught my eye and I found it in the school library. It's called "Sweet Painted Lady" and its written by Andrew Derham, my former High School Head. :dizzy2: Its a fairly interesting book about how three crackpot British men (one a owner of a security company, another a physicts teacher and another a family man) and one sassy American woman art teacher who goes to the Lourve and plan to steal the Mona Lisa. Quite an interesting read.

[matteus the inbred]

Now reading Hannibal's War, by John Peddie, which probably ought to be compulsory round here...!

When I've finished that, it's onto The Twelve Caesars, by Michael Grant. I really ought to get RTW installed one of these days...

[Uesugi Kenshin]

I thought the apes quote was taken from a World War 1 seargent.

It is, but it is also on the inside cover of Starship Troopers somewhere, I remember seeing that quote almost every single time I opened the book. I should have made that clear....:shame:

IIRC it was apparently an American Marine sergeant.

[Kanamori]

Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan, so far, so much better than crossroads.:book: Maybe the last book won't be 800 pages, or whatever xroads was, covering three days.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Uesugi, Zalmoxis, the quote is featured on the inside cover, from a WWI sergeant. If the exact phrase isn't repeated in the book, then the "apes" part is.

[R'as al Ghul]

A Raymond Chandler omnibus. Can't beat those hard-boiled noir crime novels!

Good Taste, mate. I've read "The High Window" a few weeks ago.
The dialogues are priceless.

[Tachikaze]

I have inherited some old children's books published in 1921. Mind you, the estimation of a child's intelligence and literacy was much higher then. From this series, I am currently reading Robinson Crusoe.

I just finished The Tales of Robin Hood. This was interesting because it was published before either of the most famous early Hollywood versions of the stories were filmed (Douglas Fairbanks & Errol Flynn). So, it shows where the evolution of the tales had reached before Hollywood cemented the plot and characters in our common psyche.

Of note:
John Lackland doesn't appear until he is already crowned king of England. This is in the very end of the stories after King Richard's death.

Maid Marian is a childhood friend who marries Robin, is never directly involved in any adventures after the chapter of her introduction, and dies well before he does.

Robin is poisoned by his cousin. He is survived by Little John.

Sir Guy of Gisborne is a minor character in only a single skirmish with Robin in which Gisborne is killed.

The Sheriff of Nottingham is Robin's major long-term opponent and does not die in any of the stories.

Robin is not a Saxon noble, but low-born. The conflict between Normans and Saxons is almost completely absent, mentioned only once.

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

The Tower Menagerie, telling the history of the Zoos in the Tower of London. A great read

[Lemur]

I have inherited some old children's books published in 1921. Mind you, the estimation of a child's intelligence and literacy was much higher then. From this series, I am currently reading Robinson Crusoe.
When I was a wee lad I raided my grandfather's library and snatched up the children's books. Given their age and his age, I would guess they were from the '20s or earlier.

My favorite was "Robinson Crusoe in Words of One Syllable." The introduction had a lenghty essay on why they allowed the word "Friday." Good stuff, good stuff.

[edit]

After a quick search, I see that the book made it into Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/6936). So I could re-read it now, free of charge. I love the internet. Seems the book was published in 1882, which sounds about right.

[Adrian II]

Good Taste, mate. I've read "The High Window" a few weeks ago.
The dialogues are priceless.Same goes for Mario Simmel's Lieb Vaterland magst ruhig sein which I am reading. It's about the tunnels underneath the Berlin Wall in the 1960's and the human jetsam and flotsam involved with this. Simmel has an exquisite sense of humor. And the juicy Berliner accent of many characters, well, det seh ick ja ooch jerne.

[Sjakihata]

Just finished Commando Raid by Joe Poyer, it's hollow, no intellectual stimulation, read it in less than 2 days, I loved it :2thumbsup:

Also reading Was Heisst: sich im Denken orientieren? by Immanuel Kant, about historyphilosophy, progress and human enlightenment, quite fascinating.

[Reverend Joe]

"Heart of Darkness", for about the third time. Love that book.

Next is Henry Miller, "The Rosy Crucifixion" and his "Tropic" series, and "Black Spring" to finish it off. I have quite a bit of reading to do...

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Finished Troopers. Now working on The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth.

[Romulas]

Just started Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan. After reading it, I may start the whole series over again.

[AntiochusIII]

The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787, by Gordon S. Wood. An amazing read and a profound philosophical exploration of the dynamic period...

...in a way that should dispel from me 90% of common American misconceptions of their (and soon to be ours within a few years for me ~:) ) own Constitution, which, in many ways, achieve the status of "common knowledge." :2thumbsup:

It is especially excellent in the massive documentation of the first-hand sources used for the writing of the book; just about every page.

[Lemur]

More light reading: Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765341611/sr=8-6/qid=1139865620/ref=sr_1_6/002-1615300-2042401?%5Fencoding=UTF8) by Jerome K. Jerome. An incredibly silly book written in 1889. Easy on the brain, and it's already made me laugh out loud twice. A good sign.

[drone]

Just started into "The Pythons: Autobiography". Anyone up for an argument?

[Sjakihata]

Just started Rousseau's Emile

[Kanamori]

...in a way that should dispel from me 90% of common American misconceptions of their (and soon to be ours within a few years for me ) own Constitution, which, in many ways, achieve the status of "common knowledge."

If you're interested in that type of history book (although it doesn't deal w/ the Constitution as it has changed, it is a huge revelation for the civil war era and all of the enormous effects it had on US history), I'd really recommend The Metaphysical Club by Louis Menand; if it helps to convince you at all, Pindar really liked it too, for what it's worth...:balloon2:

[Leonin Khan]

who read the Dark Tower of stephen king...and i mean the Lost Empire or sumthing like it...its part 3 of TDT

[Proletariat]

Essential Histories, The Punic Wars, Nigel Bagnall

[Divinus Arma]

1776.

[Big_John]

Essential Histories, The Punic Wars, Nigel Bagnalli read a book by bagnall called "the punic wars: rome, carthage and the struggle for the mediterranean". wonder if it's the same book.


anyway, i just finished Taliban by ahmed rashid (very informative, but kind of by the nubmers), and i'm about halfway through The Historian by elisabth kostova (fluff, but kind of fun in places.. over-long though). also, i've just started reading A Prayer for Owen Meany by john irving.

[Proletariat]

i read a book by bagnall called "the punic wars: rome, carthage and the struggle for the mediterranean". wonder if it's the same book.


This is an Osprey book with just 'The Punic Wars 264-146 BC' as the title. I'm only about 40 pages into it (after reading it for about 30 minutes, I had to put the book down and start a fresh R:TW campaign, playing as Carthage of course) but I like the writing so far.

Was the Bagnall book you read any good?

[Big_John]

Was the Bagnall book you read any good?mm.. yeah, it was good i guess. i was looking for more insight into the carthaginians as people, but bagnall was mainly concerned with the conflict and the strategies of the contestants. it's probably better than i'm making it sound.. i was just looking for something different when i read it.

[Proletariat]

mm.. yeah, it was good i guess. i was looking for more insight into the carthaginians as people, but bagnall was mainly concerned with the conflict and the strategies of the contestants.

He speaks on that a tad here, but you'll still be dissappointed since a portion of it is about how little anyone seems to know about them as people. I'm very interested in that myself, so if you come across a good book that has information on day to day life in Carthage, please lemme know.

[Sjakihata]

Reading Lockes An Essay Concerning Humand Understanding boring as hell, some of the worst philosophy I've ever read. English should stick to sheepshagging and cotton making, maybe footy as well.

[matteus the inbred]

Reading Lockes An Essay Concerning Humand Understanding boring as hell, some of the worst philosophy I've ever read. English should stick to sheepshagging and cotton making, maybe footy as well.

we make decent beer too, that probably explains the bad philosophy...!

actually, I think the thing I would most miss about England would be the cheese. anyway...appropriately I'm reading Jeremy Paxman's The Political Animal, about British MPs and Parliament and why anyone would want anything to do with one or the other...he might be a supercilious git but Paxman is a very funny writer with more inside sources than anyone else.

[Lemur]

Moving on to heavier fare -- Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0871316021/sr=8-1/qid=1140663674/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-1615300-2042401?%5Fencoding=UTF8). Interesting stuff, and well-written, which isn't guaranteed with history books.

The author's hypothesis is that the Knights Templar used the peasants' revolt of 1381 to revenge themselves on the Hospitlillars, and all of this ties into the formation of the Freemasons three hundred years laters. Haven't gotten far enough into it to see if he makes a decent case, but the detail about the near-revolution of 1381 is pretty great so far. Clearly the man has done some serious research. We will see if he dons a tinfoil hat later on.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

I just finished The Prince by Machiavelli while on the train to and from NYC, it was very interesting. It wasn't very long either which was kind of good because it could have gotten really old if it had been very long.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Reading The Struggle for Mastery-The Penguin History of Britain 1066-1284 at the moment.

It's very good, actually. It looks at Scotland and Wales in isolation, as well as in terms of their relationship with England, which is nice.

[Kaiser of Arabia]

That book...

The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers by Kennedy

[caspian]

Just finished The Beach by Alex Garland.

Picking up Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.

[Ultras DVSC]

Ken Follett's new writing Whiteout is a really splendid one. Like all the other books of him, it's a masterpiece too! :book:

[Craterus]

:bump: for my thread. :idea2:

[Dutch_guy]

Currently reading:

Biggest Brother by Larry Alexander.

A biography about Major Dick Winters, the leader of the Band of Brothers.

Just starting, so don't know if it's any good.

:balloon2:

[Zalmoxis]

I was wondering, has anyone read The Prophet and can tell me how it was?

[Avicenna]

The First Crusade, Thomas Asbridge

I suppose I've got to know something about the middle ages sometime.

[littlelostboy]

"Rich Kid, Smart Kid" by Robert T. Kiyosaki :book:

[edyzmedieval]

The Tyrant - Valerio Massimo Manfredi :book:

[Quid]

David Gibbins' Atlantis

Quid

[Lemur]

Peer F. Hamilton's Fallen Dragon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0446527084/sr=8-1/qid=1150749237/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-3301509-5173640?%5Fencoding=UTF8). Fairly new (2002) British science fiction. I'm still searching for a new SF author to enjoy, so this week it's Mr. Hamilton's audition.

[The Wizard]

Atatürk by Andrew Mango. Excellent and very in-depth biography of the founder and builder of modern Turkey.

I have a question to you other posters here: I am wondering if I should buy the first book of the Wheel of Time series, to see if I should purchase more of that. My appetite was whetted by the demo preview of our very own WoT mod for RTW.

Please, give me some well-weighed advice, and try to limit the propaganda. ~;) I am open to fantasy, but I have grown a bit disillusioned with high fantasy over the years. That is why I am hesitant as to Wheel of Time.

[Justiciar]

Ahh Wheel of Time.. some witty Swedish fiend I know once referred to it as "Waste of Time". Got to agree with him there.. it's all so bloody predictable and the characters are always static.

Sort of reading two books at the moment. The Lord of the Rings (for the first time) and The Perfect King. Both are keeping me entertained so far.. though I must admit I found LOTR a bit slow to start. :laugh4:

[ShadesWolf]

Emperor - The death of Kings by Conn Iggulden

[Dutch_guy]

Emperor - The death of Kings by Conn Iggulden

Is that the last one in the series ?

:balloon2:

[DukeofSerbia]

"Managment of foreign trade" for my exam.

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
Gave a looong break (since April ~:eek:) to Tolkien's Lays of Beleriand. Rumbling around -basically classical- Turkish poetry before sleep. :sleeping:
.

[mercian billman]

Legionnaire by Simon Murray.

[ShadesWolf]

Is that the last one in the series ?

:balloon2:

The second one. This ones about pirates.

[Dutch_guy]

Ah ok, I read that one.

Pretty good story really, if you're interested in the period that is.

:balloon2:

[Dooz]

Just started Nietzsche, Beyone Good & Evil, although I am tempted to also begin reading A Clockwork Orange which I just purchased... I think I'll have to finish Nietzsche first...

[Csargo]

I'm reading a book on the American Civil War that I got on my vacation from Gettysburg.

[Avicenna]

Bill Bryson's Neither here nor there is great, delightfully entertaining while giving a vivid description of much of Europe.

[Masy]

I just finished "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote, and must say i thoroughly enjoyed it. Does anyone have any thoughts or comments on it? (This has nothing to do with the analysis of it I have to present...)

[Geoffrey S]

Ah ok, I read that one.

Pretty good story really, if you're interested in the period that is.

:balloon2:
I liked the series as it went on. Some things in the earlier books were so blatantly incorrect or annoying that it made it hard to stomach; but it seemed Iggulden got more confident towards the end of the second and during the third books and it became rather more interesting. But particularly the simplification of the first civil war, and Pompey's character, grated.

Right now I'm still working through A History of the Arab Peoples by Albert Hourani, and I've just finished Setting Free the Bears by John Irving.

[Dutch_guy]

I liked the series as it went on. Some things in the earlier books were so blatantly incorrect or annoying that it made it hard to stomach; but it seemed Iggulden got more confident towards the end of the second and during the third books and it became rather more interesting. But particularly the simplification of the first civil war, and Pompey's character, grated.


That's true and it did bother me somewhat, but then again the book wasn't supposed to be a historical biography by any means, so keeping that in mind certainly helped - for me at least.

If you do like a good read in which the author doesn't take excessive liberties concerning historical accuracy, you might want to pick up Caesar by Colleen Mccullough. A very detailed book, spanning from Caesar's time in Gaul to the death of his Rival Pompey in Egypt. The detail, especially regarding the Gaullic campaigns, is extraordinary and very fun to read.

A bit more on Topic, I'll be starting on The Sicilian by Mario Puzo soon.

:balloon2:

[Avicenna]

Just got Omerta by Mario Puzo myself. I read the Last Don and enjoyed it immensely.

[Puzz3D]

Just finished Flags of Our Fathers (http://www.randomhouse.com/features/jamesbradley/index3.html) by James Bradley. Unforgettable true story of the six guys who appear in the famous photo of the raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima. Very well written and researched. Clint Eastwood has made a movie of this book which is scheduled for release on Oct 20, 2006. He's also making a companion movie called Red Sun, Black Sand which tells the story from the Japanese side using a Japanese cast.

I also read Flyboys (http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/books/5/1586215671/index.html) by James Bradley which is similarly outstanding. It's the story of what happened to eight navy pilots who were shot down over Chichi Jima and which the navy covered up for 50 years. The revelations about the Japanese mentality towards other races are shocking. One chapter tells of the fire bombing of Tokyo from a survivors perspective, and that's riveting. This book also has the best historical summary I've ever read of the strategic path Japan took over a period of 150 years that inexorably lead it toward WWII. It also tells how the Bushido code was corrupted by the people in power in Japan.

[Dooz]

Heart of Darkness... but I gotta' say... not much holding me to it.

[Justiciar]

The Perfect King, Lord of the Rings, and Medici. Yes, all at the same time.. I'm just picking each one up at random and reading a bit.

[Craterus]

:bump: Someone copied my idea for a thread in the entrance hall!

This is the original!

[CountArach]

In that case, I repeat:

Wheel of Time - Book 9
The Punic Wars - Adrian Goldsworthy (Most of teh way through the Second Punic War... No one spolil the ending! :P )

[naut]

Heart of Darkness... but I gotta' say... not much holding me to it.

That book is horrible, the themes and such are very deep. But my god is it tedious to read.

[CountArach]

That book is horrible, the themes and such are very deep. But my god is it tedious to read.

I whole-heartedly agree. It has to be one of the worst books that I ever read. Had to do an essay on it. *Shudders*

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

In preparation to moving there, I'm reading "London: A Biography" by Peter Ackroyd.

[edyzmedieval]

The Rule of Four - Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason

[The Spartan (Returns)]

almost done with Emperor: Field of Swords.
(3rd in seiries)

[drone]

Mush: A Beginner's Manual of Sled Dog Training
Just got a second Siberian puppy, so I may as well teach them how to fulfill their heritage.

[Dutch_guy]

Mush: A Beginner's Manual of Sled Dog Training
Just got a second Siberian puppy, so I may as well teach them how to fulfill their heritage.

You do realise you're going to have to post some pics of your new pup, right ?

:balloon2:

[drone]

You do realise you're going to have to post some pics of your new pup, right ?

:balloon2:
Yes, once I get them off the camera and resized. The new one is just 10 weeks old, so I don't have much "free" time at home...

[Celtic_Guardian]

:bump: Someone copied my idea for a thread in the entrance hall!

This is the original!


sorry didnt mean to copy you, i didnt see this one first.:oops:

[naut]

The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

"American Gods", by Neil Gaiman. I like his comics, so I decided to try one of his novels.

[Geoffrey S]

The five people you meet in heaven. Got halfway last night, will finish it tonight.

[Ianofsmeg16]

The Lords of The North by Bernard Conwell

Up to expectations, another great book by the master

[Beirut]

A Short History of the Hundred Years War.

Couldn't get the new Agincourt book at the bookstore, they were out of stock, so I bought this to tide me over until I can order the other book from Amazon.

[Scurvy]

They Came and Ate us by Robert Rankin - hilarious

[Axeknight]

Just finished reading The Grapes Of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Brilliant read, but very depressing. Steinbeck's characters have a very nuanced, real feel to them and his dialogue and insight to characters' thoughts and feelings are compelling.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Angels and Demons-drivel. "His radiant green eyes shone as if they contained the mysteries of the universe" I mean come on.

[Marshal Murat]

With Fire and Sword by Henryk Sienciewicz.

[Ronin]

Hunter S. Thompson - The Rum Diary

[Mithradates]

Dispatches by Michael Herr a good read which reads very much like a any nam film u ever watched.

[Beirut]

Ordered it last night from Amazon. Should have it by the weekend. :2thumbsup:

http://www.amazon.ca/Agincourt-Juliet-Barker/dp/0316726486/sr=1-2/qid=1157451530/ref=sr_1_2/702-4574085-6828039?ie=UTF8&s=books

Really looking forward to this one.

[Sjakihata]

Nicolo Machiavelli's Discorsi on the Ten Books of Titus Livius (Livy)

[Samurai Waki]

The Age of American Syndicalism -James Veschenko

It's a good book on a what-if scenario had America become an Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune after WWI (It very nearly happened during the late 20s).

[Geoffrey S]

Pursuit of History, by John Tosh. Gotta read it for uni at some point, may as well start now.

[macsen rufus]

Just started Tom Holland's "Persian Fire" -- like his thesis that the East vs West conflict predates both Islam and Christianity. Seems like Darius started it all, and that Marathon was probably the most important single event in the history of "the West".

[littlelostboy]

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. Very compelling story about morals and about art itself.

Also, just finished "If This Is A Man" by Primo Levi last week. A very insightful novel about the Monowitzh-Buna concentration camp during World War II by this famous Italian Jew chemist.

[Geoffrey S]

Just started Tom Holland's "Persian Fire" -- like his thesis that the East vs West conflict predates both Islam and Christianity. Seems like Darius started it all, and that Marathon was probably the most important single event in the history of "the West".
Hate to say it, but that book's awful. It presents a lively image of the period and is entertaining to read, but Holland tries far too hard to draw parallels that just aren't there for some time-spanning struggle between east and west; it's all far too subjective and contains too many hypothetical (and over-dramatic) explanations for my tastes.

[Derfasciti]

I'm reading Great Ages of man, Early Japan by Jonathan Norton Leonard.

It's pretty interesting but I think it is a pretty basic, cursory history for those (like me) who know very little of Japanese history.

[Beirut]

Gotta love Amazon.ca. Order a book and you have it in three days. Got it today.

Sweet!
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/horsesass/agincourt.jpg

Still have a hundred pages left of A Short History of The Hundreds Years War. But after that I'm diving right into this one. :2thumbsup:

[R'as al Ghul]

"American Gods", by Neil Gaiman. I like his comics, so I decided to try one of his novels.

Excellent taste, mate. :2thumbsup:
I've read all his stuff so far and am a big fan.
The funniest (like laughing out loud in public while reading) is "Good Omens" with Terry Pratchett, while the best solo novel by Gaiman has to be "Stardust".
I havne't finished "Anansi Boys" yet, but so far I like it. "Neverwhere" is really good, too. What I really enjoyed was his collection of short stories "Smoke and Mirrors". Highly recommendable.

[Alexanderofmacedon]

With Our Backs to Berlin

Great book.

[Orb]

L'arta di Guerra (*looks like a prat for mis-spelling Italian*) - Machiavelli

An incredibly interesting commentary on army use, training and organisation. The fellow players of 12th Century Glory should worry about the possibility of Egyptian organisational improvements...

Herodotos' histories - A load of amusing traditions really. Entertaining rather than historical.

[Kaiser of Arabia]

I'm just about to start Machiavelli's "The Prince" again.

[Caius]

Antigona(Is called of that way?) of Sophocles

[Sjakihata]

Antigone would be the correct spelling.

Now Im reading Leviathan by Hobbes and On Soverignty by J. Bodin.

[Ice]

The Gift of Valor

It's a book about Iraq, I'm reading it for a class and its quite good.

[InsaneApache]

Chew on this by Eric Schlosser. A follow up to Fast Food Nation. Enlightening. :book:

[King Henry V]

Neither Here Nor There, by Bill Bryson.
This has to be the most hilarious book I have ever read. His travels through Europe just seem to confirm national stereotypes everywhere. Priceless.

I still have some other books to read, some which I got from the library, others which I had left over from my summer reading marathon (6 books-8 weeks). However, they'll have to wait until I've finished Neither Here Nor There.

Warfare in the Middle Ages.
The Prince, by Machiavelli.
The Shorter Cambridge Mediaeval History.
The Canterbury Tales.

[littlelostboy]

I have decided to put Oscar Wilde 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and continue the saga of Primo Levi in his book 'The Truce'. A somewhat more cheerful and upbeat novel that poke and investigate all the characters during the long journey home after WWII.

[macsen rufus]

@GeoffreyS


Quote:
Originally Posted by macsen rufus
Just started Tom Holland's "Persian Fire" -- like his thesis that the East vs West conflict predates both Islam and Christianity. Seems like Darius started it all, and that Marathon was probably the most important single event in the history of "the West".

Hate to say it, but that book's awful. It presents a lively image of the period and is entertaining to read, but Holland tries far too hard to draw parallels that just aren't there for some time-spanning struggle between east and west; it's all far too subjective and contains too many hypothetical (and over-dramatic) explanations for my tastes.

Thanks for your feedback -- I'm beginning to get irritated by it, a little. Too much of the "terrorist state" terminology. But what REALLY Bugs me is his writing style, as he has no concept of the difference between sentences, clauses and sub-clauses.

Such as this one. With which, in incredibly Byzantine sentence structures, he will start new paragraphs, allowing, as it does, the creation of an illusion of pace and suspense which then flounders on convolutions.

Which in themselves then slow down the whole thing so you have to reread the sentence in order to understand what he, maybe overly parenthetically, was alluding to....

[Craterus]

Another :bump: for my thread... which has died. :sad:

[Quid]

Paul Sussman
The last Secret of the Temple

Quid

[Csargo]

The Great War covering the entire 1914-1918 Era. Pretty good read.

[CountArach]

Wheel of Time - Book 11!!!!! Gah!!! Will this series never end!?!?!?

I am also reading some book I can't remember the name of for English at school, but that sucks so it doesn't really count.

[macsen rufus]

"Iron Council" by China Mieville -- excellent stuff as usual

Lined up on my bookshelves waiting to be read (after the last trip to the bookshop...)

"Fight Club" by Chuck Palahniuk (love the film, so thought I'd go to the source)
"1984" by George Orwell (time to re-read it, methinks, essential reading for anyone struggling to understand WoT and the post-9/11 world.)
"Saturday" by Ian McEwan (one of my fave authors, so I know I'm in for a treat)

[Shadow]

Defending Israel

by Martin Van Creveld

[GreatEmperor]

Meestermagi&#235;r deel 1: het eerste zwaard: Sperling - W.J. Maryson

sorry guys this is a Dutch only book :P

[Caius]

I'm going to read Mio Cid, Anonimous

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Last Chance To See - Douglas Adams

[Geoffrey S]

The Mediterranean in the Ancient World - Fernand Braudel
The Low Countries and the Hundred Years' War, 1326-1347 - Henry Stephen Lucas
The Seleucid army - Bezalel Bar-Kochva
Chocky - John Wyndham

[Ianofsmeg16]

Frankenstein, book 1 - Dean Koontz

an interesting modern take on the classic...very good read so far