What books are you people reading now? Right now i am reading The Qur'an (i'm probably on some list for buying it at the bookstore) and Ethics for the New Millenium by the Dalai Lama. What about anyone else? :book:
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What books are you people reading now? Right now i am reading The Qur'an (i'm probably on some list for buying it at the bookstore) and Ethics for the New Millenium by the Dalai Lama. What about anyone else? :book:
Rotating through 3 books at the moment.
Empires of the Word: a language history of the world
The Homeric Hymns
The Greco-Persian Wars
All very interesting & highly recommended!
CountMRVHS
Class starts tomorrow. So definitely hitting the arabic textbooks. As for pleasure:
From Beirut to Jerusalem - Thomas Friedman
A Mentor Book on Gestalt Psychology
The Jungle Book - Rudyard Kipling, out of sheer curiosity.
The First Crusade - Thomas Asbridge
The Alexiad - Anna Komnene (penguin translation)
"Agincourt" by Juliet Barker...
last book I read was "The First Crusade" just like Orb -- hope you're enjoying it! I found it very illuminating :2thumbsup:
The Illiad and The Odyssey switching between those books
Cromwell - Our Chief of Men by Antonia Fraser
getting ready to finish Warriors Of God (3rd Crusade)
For fun, I am re-reading "The Eagle and the Wolves" by Simon Scarrow and "The Afghan Campaign" by Steven Pressfield (both highly recommended for any TW fans who got nothing to do till the release of the Medieval). Also under progress is the "Iron Chef of Folk Dishes in Taiwan" and this really boring report on "SEC's Proposed Rules Relating to Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 Reporting"
Exams in two weeks, so it's Croatian Legal History in the European Context.
Otherwise, I'm rereading Russia's War by Richard Overy (or WWII, Eastern Front, but starting a bit before that, with the officer purges, and ending later).
Right now I'm reading "The Honourable Killer", by Jan Guillou, it's a swedish book and I don't think it is translated into other languages.
Otherwise I've read some books in the fantasy-genre (is that right-spelled? Or, well, the right words?) called Eragon.
Wiking.
Freakonomics - Levitt & Dubner
Empire "The Death of Kings" - Iggulden
The Third Reich, A new history - Burleigh, This is hard going :book:
I am reading
A Song Of Ice And Fire G.R.R Martin- just finished. Brilliant series. Anyone fancy making a mod for this? Pm me!
Phantom Terry Goodkind - not too bad. The good characters seem to be invincible. I don't think one has died yet. The militiary tactics in this series are mostly completely unorthodox.
When i acquire some modding skills, I will actually try to make ASOIAF (Song of Ice and Fire) mod.
What is ASOIAF ?Quote:
Originally Posted by stormbringer_951
Historic, fantasy, space ?
Fantasy ... I've read them, four books (or is it five?) and it's still not finished. Medievel, but without the more fantasy stuff (I remember there only being a dragon or two, none mature, and not of the fire-breathing WMD type and undead ... or something, oh and a magical sword or two). Also, if you are disgusted by Byzantine court politics, I wouldn't suggest it.Quote:
Originally Posted by ShadesWolf
Makes a good reading, but I find it nothing special, a bit on the complicated side.
Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire by Caroline Finkel
Hello Ancient Warrios;
I'm reading E-Book version of "IMAGES of KURSK : History's greatest tank battle july 1943".I also read "Sinuhe : Special doctor of Pharaoh" last year summer.I highly recommend you to read this book.
I'm also looking for a book named "Sassanian Elit Cavalry" written by Dr. Kaveh Farrokh.Does Anyone have the E-Book of this book?
Thanks
-Kambiz
Saratoga: turning point of the american revolution
On Killing: the Phychological cost in learning to kill in war and society.
Legends II: (Robin Hobb, Gerorge RR Martin etc)
Einsteins monsters-post nuclear age angst fiction
Re-reading one of my favourites: "The Heartland" by Stuart Legg...it is an interesting book about Nomad history in -well, pretty much- Eurasia.
Profiles of Courage ~ JFK
Robin Hobb - The soldier son - book I
Dan Simmons - Illium
Re-reading Zecharia Sitchin´s "The 12th planet". Great thoughexperiment that via archaeology, sience and some fantasy claims that earth was inhabited by astronauts from a 12th planet in our system and that homo sapiens derrived from them. Absolutely one of the 5 best books I´ve ever read. Being a bookstore owners son that says a lot, he he!:book:
Wow, a lot of history and war books. Who'd have thunk it? :laugh4:
George RR Martin's stuff is great, btw. I think he and Steven Erikson are the only readable fantasy writers writing now. Fantasy for thinking adults.
:book:
currently i am reading "The Life of the World to Come", which is book 5 in Kage Baker's sci-fi "Company" series. :2thumbsup:
pretty interesting (and witty and slightly humorous) series involving time travel and cyborgs. the first 3 books were the best. the 6th book in the series just came out this month.
not been in the mood for much non-fiction the last couple months...
all you people sound very intelligent. my book is a little simple.
i am reading "men of iron" by howard pyle. it is an old book and written probable for teenagers so most of you could read it in a couple afternoons. i used to like a movie they made based on this book from the 1950s called "the black shield of falworth". it is also a simplistist kind of movie for teenage audience but try it you may like it.
you can download an ebook from www.gutenberg.net if you want to read it. i frequent the gutenberg project as they have a lot of books that are older. i really do not read very well anymore and i have the computer read to me using microsoft reader.
happy reading.
Gods, I absolutely love GRRM. I am waiting rather impatiently for A Dance with Dragons (book five, of a seven or so book series) to be released. Amazing. If you like him, CountMRVHS, I also recommend R. Scott Bakker (http://www.princeofnothing.com/). He's got a three book series with similar complexity to GRRM, and is fairly magick free. If you're at all interested in the Crusades you'll really enjoy his work. :2thumbsup: I myself couldn't get through Steven Erickson's first book, even though I was very intrigued by it...something just turned me off. *shrugs* I haven't finished.Quote:
Originally Posted by CountMRVHS
As far as what I am currently reading, it's a combination of GRRM's A Storm of Swords and Jefferey Deaver's The Cold Moon. Deaver is suffereing from John Grisham-itis, in that his early work was good, and his latter work not so much; if you like suspense thriller type novels, however, his earlier books with Lincoln Rhyme are tough to beat.
Nostradamus ate my hamster by Robert Rankin
and
The Luzhin Defense - Nabokov
Just finished "The Atrocity Archives" by Charles Stross, really fun stuff. The premise is that eldritch cthuloid horrors are held at bay by ... an in-fighting, dysfunctional bureaucracy. Sort of like Stanislaw Lem's "Memoirs Found in a Bathtub," but not as absurd.
Now I'm bookless. All I've got to read is "Three Men in a Boat ... to Say Nothing of the Dog" which I've started five or six times without getting very far, and the latest Chuck Palahniuk, which is composed entirely of short stories, which gets old fast.
Quickly Amazon, save me from my "to read" list!
Swapping through some books atm
Arthur, once and future king Terence H White
The Wheel of Time Robert Jordan
Oddysee Homer
Peloponesian Wars Thucydides
Fortune's Favorites - Colleen McCullough.
Enjoying it a lot thus far :2thumbsup:
:balloon2:
Les Mots by Jean-Paul Sartre
Byzantine Grand Strategy: 6th - 11th century by Charalambos Papasotiriou, highly recommended for anyone interested in a thematic approach to byzantine foreign policy (not sure if it's been translated into English - there are high chances though).
Also browsing the newest addition to my TASCHEN collection, Moorish Architecture in Andalusia.
I saw a map sometime ago of a mod called Westeros: Total War, but they hadn't been updated for over a year so I think that mod is dead. Try searching for it in the modding forums here and over at the TWC and you might turn up something.Quote:
Originally Posted by stormbringer_951
I know you got sole - Jeremy Clarkson :laugh4:
Emperor: The Field of Swords. i was reading the second one first and it was good. the book is so good it would get an Oscar if it was a movie. the part when Brutus' legion's were revealed to the Helvetii by a shine of light was amazing. then a scout told Julius that the Helvetii were on the hill mistaken that, that was Brutus' legion. then Julius says: "Arrest that stupid man and hold him for punishment. Those were our own legions you stupid bas****."
Hey there! I just joined and wanna get acquainted.
I just finished George Orwell's political masterpiece, 1984, and have started White Fang by Jack London.
1984, for those of you who don't know, is an excellent book about one man's struggle to survive in a futuristic "negative utopia" in which there are no freedoms, and chronicles his vain, meager attempt to overthrow the totalitarian government of the country in which he lives.
I have no idea what White Fang is about, as I just started reading it. All I know is that it is like The Call of the Wild, a great book about a dog sold to gold miners in the Yukon Gold Rush. The story is essentially a metaphor the retrogression of civility in one's personallity upon entering a more primitive environment.
I hope I don't sound like a stupid dork trying to pass for someone intelligent... lol :wall:
welcome Raptor to the Org!
I read that book, if you read on through the series the way the relationship between julius and brutus + the character of julius becomes really interesting (more entertaining than the evnts themseleves)Quote:
Originally Posted by The Spartan
on Field of Swords i found the book to be just slightly too long overall and it gets a bit drawn out in the middle, although the author rightly wanted to stuff as much of julius's v interesting life into the series as possible...
right now im in the part where Julius is going to meet Atrorvius.
Wheel of Time - Book 9(!) and The Punic Wars by Adrian Goldsworthy, which I am enjoying immensely. That man is a genius.
u havnt got to the good bits yet :)Quote:
Originally Posted by The Spartan
I also just started Hardtack And Coffee Good book.
CountArach, Goldsworthy wrote The Fall of Carthage, right? I own that and have read parts of it. Didn't know he wrote the Punic Wars too. At any rate Fall of Carthage covers the period of all the Punic Wars. A bit dry, but interesting nonetheless.
Sort of off-topic, but Michael Dando-Collins wrote a couple of fun & informative books: Caesar's Legion and Nero's Killing Machine. Each book follows the history and adventures of a particular Roman legion -- the first one was Caesar's prized 10th; the second book covered I believe the 14th(?). Fun, funny, easy to read, good battle & strategy descriptions; all around I'd recommend it for all you lot if you like fun history/military books the way I do.
CountMRVHS
Hi everyone ~:wave:
I've just started Emperor, The Gates Of Rome by Conn Iggulden. It is a story about Julius Caesar that covers 4 books and so far I am 245 pages in and he is only in his early teens. It is quite easy reading and I am finding it quite enjoyable.
The Spartan & Scurvy : Glad you are also enjoying the same series. I feel quite confident that I will want to read the other 3 books :book: .
Enjoy the rest of the bank holiday everyone ~:cheers:
:charge:
woot! Yakobu! :medievalcheers:
i started with The Death Of Kings because i wanted to start with Julius.
i think The Gates Of Rome start with Marius?
I've read them all, I did like them a lot but things like [warning, not something any would be readers 'd like to know]I found disappointing.Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Further more, I enjoyed reading Caesar and Fortune's Favorites (by Colleen McCullough) more than the Emperor series. Simply because they contain an astounding amount of detail, and because I find that the author is able to make a fluent story while not taking excessive liberty interpretating History.
That said, by all means I enjoyed the Emperor series and also recommend them to anyone interested in the time frame.
Oh btw, YAKOBU, back already ?
:balloon2:
ahh!!!!!!! I read the spoiler!!!
you should have said which book DG!
The Spartan : Emperor, The Gates Of Rome centres around Julius Caesar in the 245 pages I've read so far. His childhood friend Marcus lives with him and is integral to the story so far.
Dutch_guy: I'm just lurking, check my Farewell thread ~;)
:charge:
In the Name of Rome: The Men Who Won the Roman Empire, by Adrian Goldsworthy.
Excellent book, i highly recommend it.
I'm reading Emperor: Death of Kings, or whatever the second one in the Emperor series is called. Can't be bothered to finish it though. The first book was good, and I got the other 2 as well, just I can't be bothered to sit down and read it.
I'm also reading (well, one chapter every 3 months or so) A Riot of Our Own: Night and Day with the "Clash". An interesting insight into the legendary punk band The Clash. It really gives you a feel of the British punk scene and the band back in the late seventies.
Interesting thread. Now I am reading ' Passions of Mind' by Irving Stone. It is a biography of Sigmund Freud. Really interesting ~:cool:. The other is about Byzantium; plain history.
Hm... The McCullough 'Master's of Rome' series. I felt the first two were excellent, the third was fairly average. The ones after I couldn't bear to read. Sickening hero worship of Caesar.
"How to Write in Perfect English"
"Beowulf"
I am reading some eassys and articles by Thomas Paine. He wrote some of them right before the American Revolution, some while he was a soldier in the Continental Army, and some about the French Revolution. It is kinda hard stuff to get through, but it really makes you think.
Also I just finished John Grisham's "The Partner". I think it is better than most of his books. If you like his books then you will like that one.
Not sure if he wrote that one. He has written many other Roman Army books, like The Complete Roman Army and In the Name of Rome: The Men who eon the Roman Empire.Quote:
Originally Posted by CountMRVHS
He is a bit dry, but that is the case with most history texts (At least in my experience)
His early stuff is quite good. Then he got to be a little...full of himself and all of his subsequent books were terrible. I stopped reading them a while ago, so I guess he may have had some sort of writer's renaissance, but somehow I doubt it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Matador
:book:
just finnished the fall of byzantium and the forth crusade
hard going but very informative.
I'm on the third part of Robert Anton Wilson's "Cosmic Trigger" trilogy, and I also consumed "Slaughterhouse 5" by Kurt Vonnegut, last week.
The only history book I read in the last while was called "Rubicon" and was a narrative history of the Roman Republic through till the reign of Agustus(its brilliant stuff, so much more crazy and dramatic than nowadays)
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock for about the one millionth time.
Has anyone read China Mieville's Perdido Street Station? I picked it up today; any thoughts?
Currently I'm reading The Sea Hunters II by Clive Cussler. Haven't read much, but what I did read is quite interesting. :book:
@ Danfda; YES YES YES !!! I loved it, and also "The Scar" which is set in the same world. Mieville is an incredible writer and gets beyond the usual mainstays of fantasy/scifi. Great characterisations, good plotting and amazing visual imagery to his writing. Highly recommended.
Good to know. Thanks rufus!
It sounded pretty good, and has gotten good reviews, so I thought I'd give it a shot. He's got several in that universe now, I think (well, 2 or 3).
More? Yippee! :2thumbsup: Must get back to the bookstore....Quote:
He's got several in that universe now, I think (well, 2 or 3).
Ahem!
The original
I'm currently reading, The Black Order by James Rollins, The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan, and of course Sun Tzu's Art of War by just about anyone who can take credit for the translation and not mention the skeptically existing military genius himself as proper.
I've decided to read all of this year's Hugo nominees. Finished His Majesty's Dragon, which was okay, sort of a cross between Patrick O'Brian and Anne McCaffrey, you know, dragons in a Napoleonic setting. Kind of odd, really.
Now I'm reading a much better book, Old Man's War. It's hard-core military SF, but light on the cliches. Somewhere between Starship Troopers and The Forever War, but very original, very well-written.
I think there are five nominees, so I'll be needing to track the other three down.
The Sling and The Stone , T.X. Hammes, retired USMC Colonel, making the case that the West hasn't yet devised a strategy to combat what he dubs '4th generation war'.
Well-written presentation of his position. Sadly, having read half-way through his 300-page tome, I haven't gleaned what his solution might be. Yet. Hope springs eternal. :)
I am reading the Sword of Truth series, on book 3. I have read some books like what the other posters are reading but am currently only in the mood for something less studious.:book:
I read Perdido Street Station and, oh, what was the other one? Oh, Iron Council, that's the one.Quote:
Originally Posted by macsen rufus
I agree that he's got imagination and skill to spare, but there's something about his books ... I don't know, they just don't feel like complete meals. There's something missing, some level of engagement that never works out for me. I've sort of given up on him, even though he's extraordinary. Maybe I should go read his first book, King Rat ...
Presently reading, among other things, a translation of Julius Caesar's Commentaries, specifically The Gallic War as translated by Carolyn Hammond.
Also reading Robert O'Connell's Soul of the Sword, which I've had for a while but never really gotten into before now.
Robert Harris - Imperium
For the time being i'm reading Sun Tzu the Art of War, and as well Sir Isaac Newtons Principia
I'm reading Arnhem, by Hibbert C.
It's 16th september so I kinda got in the mood
Attila trilogy by William Napier. Waiting for the second book, due to be published early October
......Orda
Just started The Assasin's Gate, which looks to be a good, well-researched, utterly depressing read.
I'm re-reading I, Claudius by Robert Graves. I love that book and reccomend it highly.
Currently im reading Sharpe's Trafalgar - by Bernard Cornwell.
I also just finished reading sharpes escape and sharpes havoc. All are excellent books set against the backdrop of the british army fighting in India and against france throughout europe. Wonderful reading.
I also have, bought yesterday, but yet to read Stonehenge, by Bernard Cornwell and Op centre by Tom clancey.
I'm currently reading 2 books: Baudolino by Umberto Ecco and La collezione di smeraldi by Ioan Petru Culianu. They are both set in the middle ages, and so they compliment well this game.
Fate, I think I made the mistake of reading too many Sharpe books in a row. The similarities and formulae became grating by book seven. I think if I had spaced them out more, instead of devouring them like a bag of potato chips, I would have gotten more joy from the series.
"Good as Gold" by Joseph Heller
Vork