the dogs of war
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the dogs of war
The Liar by Stephen Fry.
Your Brain on Music by Daniel J. Levitin
And, how odd, Garcilaso, I was just reading Huxely's Brave New World.
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:
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".....
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, by Tolkien.
You should also look at A Frozen Hell which also covers the Russo-Finnish War if your interest is peaked!Quote:
Originally Posted by Beirut
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).
Moby Dick.... and the great gatsby.... school sucks
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Decker
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:
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
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.
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-?)
Quirinus, Colleen McCullough is a great writer.
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).
I just started reading Homer's Odyssey for University.
^^ Right you are.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Wandering Scholar
Just curious, what is the book, in chronological order, after Fortune's Favourites? Is it Caesar's Women?Quote:
Originally Posted by Gaius Scribonius Curio
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_vQuote:
Originally Posted by Motep
First Man in RomeQuote:
Originally Posted by Quirinus
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
Alice in Sunderland, by Bryan Talbot. Very curious.
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Originally Posted by CountArach
The original or which translation? :inquisitive:
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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.
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.
Show off! :tongue:Quote:
Originally Posted by King Henry V
~:pat:
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Beirut
Ah, what can I say, the woes of having a trilingual education!:juggle2:Quote:
Originally Posted by Gregoshi
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:
Julius Caesar by Adrian Goldsworthy :book:
I take it you are a RTW fan, then?
Right now, just these.
F.Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment
J.P.Sartre, Nausea
Those two are quite dense, so nothing else for the moment.
Just started De Bello Gallico so I felt like it deserved a mention!
My Latin text folders...
I would love to learn latin but what is it used for now?
Reading ancient texts.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Wandering Scholar
It's the official language of the Vatican:surprised:Quote:
Originally Posted by The Wandering Scholar
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...
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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:
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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:
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.
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:
....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:
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. ~;)
Taipan by James Clavell.
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).
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.
The Imjin War by Samuel Hawley about Japan's invasions of Korea in the 1590s.
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.
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.
Book two of the Tamuli, by David Eddings. Good read.
Isnt david eddings the author who wrote the Mallorean series and the belgariad, they were good books:2thumbsup:
Yes, he is the author of those titles.
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.
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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:
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"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:
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.
Is anyone else reading the Tomorrow series by John Marsden? :inquisitive:
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
Just read L'Amour's Fallon, excellent as the rest of his books!
*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.
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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:
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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.
Has anyone red the book 'Water Margin'/'水浒传'?
What's it about?Quote:
Originally Posted by QuintusJulius-Cicero
I'm reading The Collected Short Stories of Mark Twain. The man is a genius. Funniest stuff I've read in ages, perhaps ever.
I picked up World Without End from the library, haven't started it yet.
You seriously want to read that book? :fainting:Quote:
Originally Posted by BananaBob
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beirut
Water Margin
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.
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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:
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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).
Carlo Levi's "Christo si è fermato a Eboli", french translation.
"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...
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Still Rouse's Odyssey but I've received my Kalevala today! :jumping:
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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.
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.
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...
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.
It is out?? *Runs to the bookstore*Quote:
Originally Posted by peverpink
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.
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:
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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:
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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.
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.
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.