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What book is everyone reading at the moment?

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Chaos said:
*sigh*

Okay. I admit it.

About 1/4 of my reading diet consists of Donald Duck comics. Especially the ones by Don Rosa.
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I just finished my third reading of "Understanding Comics" by Scott McCloud. And I read several webcomics daily.


BTW, starting "Foundation" today. Haven't read it since high school.
 
headscratcher4 said:
That was a very interesting book...If you arefinding it interesting, you might look at Gulag by Anne Applebaum and the latest Kruschev biography (can't remember the author's name) -- both excellent.
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Cheers for the tips, mate. I read Gulag whilst on holiday, but I've not read the new Khruschev one. I'll have to keep an eye out for it.

Good point about people possibly being a touch creative with their choices, mind you, we all need to read something simple and escapist once in a while. My escapist work of choice is normally those old fighting fantasy books. I can just switch off and cheat my way through them:o

Jim Bowen
 
Back when I was in the army, one of our less-than-literate types was fond of Little Dot comics.
He said being in the army was the best job he ever had. We of course inquired as to his previous employment.

"Chicken plucker."

I suppose he had a point.
 
In fiction, The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell - the beginning of his latest series, set in Alfred the Great's Britain.

In nonfiction, have just picked up Alan F. Segal's Life After Death: A History of the Afterlife in the Religions of the West. Very cool.
 
Currently rereading the "Regiment" series by John Dalmas beginning with 'The Regiment'.

I enjoy the concept of T'sel and 'work as play'.


Boo
 
Re: the Sharpe books

otyug said:
Fiction: Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe books

http://www.bernardcornwell.net/index2.cfm?page=1&SeriesId=1

I've recently discovered Sharpe and i'm hopelessly addicted.
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Well, there's a lot of them! They're what used to be called "a damn' good yarn!"
Mr Cornwell does his research very well and the writes fluently and convincingly. OK, they probably won't win the Booker prize, but that's not what they're for.
For those who don't know, the books are set in the Napoleonic period, many of them in Spain - a particulary bloody campaign. The main character, Sharpe, starts out as a foot soldier in the ranks and through the series rises up to become a fairly senior officer - but one who doesn't forget his roots. He's fairly brutal and has an unconventional way of doing things. Oh, and total contempt for authority.........
The books cried out for a film..........and you're in luck, because in the '90s a series of TV films were made with Sean Bean in the title role. One of the main characters, Harper, carries a Nock volley gun. Seven .5" caliber barrels on a rifle stock! :eek: For the films, they had one made. A real one! :D Go here for details of the weapon - http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/collectionsDetail.cfm?ID=AAA2519
Sean Bean carried a Baker Rifle - and it was a genuine antique.
OK, if you want the movies do very close price comparisons. From Amazon.com the "collector's edition" - $296.00 for 14 dvds in a posh box. Amazon.co.uk in a less posh box - $128.15. (£69.99). Expensive box, don't you think? In fact, more than the dvds!
True, they're region 2 discs, but that shouldn't be a problem. I converted my dvd player to all regions for less than £20. It took 5 minutes. pm me for details.
Enjoy!
 
Kimpatsu said:
No way! "The Chrysalids" is definitely the best, followed by "The Trouble with Lichen".
Currently, I'm reading "The Meme Machine" by Susan Blackmore.
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Coincidentally, I'd just re-read The Chrysalids shortly before this thread was opened, it reeks with the scent of woo. Wyndham's take on religious extremism is quite nice though.
 
Just started Steven Pressfield's "The Virtues of War". It's a retelling of Alexander the Great. I'm only about ten pages into it, and am hoping it's more like his "Gates of Fire" (a retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae) than his "The Legend of Bagger Vance" (crappy woo woo golf novel). I just finished Doanld Westlake's "The Hook" and can't recommend it enough for those of you who like a good psycological thriller
 
Re: Bernard Cornwell. I think he must be hyperactive - 2 or 3 new books a year, all of them cracking good reads, ranging all over the genre of military history. The Sharpe series is great, as is the series of made-for-tv movies with Sean Bean, as Tim mentioned above. Rumour has it that a new movie is being planned, set some years after Waterloo. I live in hope.

But Cornwell's other series and stand-alones are also well worth it. There's his Grail Quest trilogy, set in the 14th century during the Hundred Years War, which highlights the longbow as super-weapon. And the Civil War series, four books so far - with a nice bonus, in that Sharpe's son takes a minor but interesting role. And the Stonehenge-era books, which are okay but I don't like them so much. And the Coast Guard series - and a new series set in Alfred's Britain, setting Saxons against Danes - and several worthwhile stand-alones. Like I say, the man is hyperactive.
 
asthmatic camel said:
Coincidentally, I'd just re-read The Chrysalids shortly before this thread was opened, it reeks with the scent of woo. Wyndham's take on religious extremism is quite nice though.
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I think Wyndham modelled the post-apocalyptic society on the Inquisition. Either that, or America if Bush is reelected. :p
But, c'mon, it's a great book! Telepathic teenage heroes take on the might of adult religious fanatics? It's every teenager's dream!
 
I'm quite keen on Bernard Cornwall myself. I prefer his Warlord Trilogy (King Arthur novels) to his other books, but they are all good. I'll have to keep an eye out for his work on Alfred; I specialised in Anglo-Saxon history at uni and there is a real dearth of good fiction set in this period:(

Jim Bowen (still reading The Court of the Red Tsar)
 
Kimpatsu said:
I think Wyndham modelled the post-apocalyptic society on the Inquisition. Either that, or America if Bush is reelected. :p
But, c'mon, it's a great book! Telepathic teenage heroes take on the might of adult religious fanatics? It's every teenager's dream!
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Precisely! That's why I don't like the book; one form of woo is replaced by another. Cutesy turbo-telepathic toddler Petra makes me want to throw up.

Sorry for the derail, move along folks, nothing to see here.
 
asthmatic camel said:
Precisely! That's why I don't like the book; one form of woo is replaced by another. Cutesy turbo-telepathic toddler Petra makes me want to throw up.

Sorry for the derail, move along folks, nothing to see here.
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What, you never wanted to be a Tomorrow Person?
 
Crime and punishment (Dostoievski)

Previous: Demon haunted world (Sagan)
Next: Ficciones (Borges) - 2nd time
 
The Central Scrutinizer said:
I'm "reading" the November issue of Playboy. If there is a hotter chick on the planet than Brooke Burke, I haven't seen her!
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Yes, she is very, very attractive.


I am reading book 6 of 'The Dark Tower- Song of Susanah' by Stephen King.


<------- Dark Tower Junkie.

:D
 
I just got through reading:

The Geography of Thought : How Asians and Westerners Think Differently...and Why by Richard Nisbett

Horrible subtitle, but an interesting book studying the effects of culture on basic cognitive processes. It's fill with tons of very interesting psych experiments.

Now, spliting time between.

I'm a bit of a math phobe and my logic skills always need work.
Statistics Demystified
Logic Made Easy: How to Know When Language Deceives You

Light reading, when I need a break.
Master and Commander
 
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