MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Been a while, and all the others are closed.
Just finished [b]Unsung Hero[/b] about Tom Crean, a Navy guy who ended up going on 3 Antarctic expeditions, including Scott's famous one where lots of people died and Shackleton's famous one where everybody* got rescued. Quite the stalwart. Did amazing things on both. I knew the very barest bones about these stories, not really much more than "cold" "death" and "boat". Great to learn more. Amazing tales. Book's a bit ploddy for the first third, but worth sticking with.
Just started [b]Longitude[/b] - about you'll never guess what. Equally fascinating.
* except 3 of the ten who spent 2 years on the other side of the continent, and sledged for 1500 miles, laying depots that would never be used.
Just read Michael Moorcock's [i]The Whispering Swarm[/i].
Now reading William T Vollmann's [i]Last Stories[/i].
Both feature good bits, rubbish bits and too many words.
Just finished Neil Gaimans, [b]Trigger Warning[/b] very good collection of short stories, not normally a fan of short stories but they for the most part were very engaging.
I've got Ernest Hemingway's, [b]The Old Man and the Sea[/b] and Joe Abercrombie, [b]Half a War[/b] up next.
Old man and the sea is probably my favourite book Klaus, fantastic stuff.
Just started Beevor's [b]Ardennes 1944[/b], and have [b]The Grapes of Wrath[/b] and [b]Cooking for Geeks[/b] also on the go.
Just about to tuck into 'Flood of fire' the long awaited final part of the Ibis trilogy by Amitav Ghosh.
(I still miss The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.)
Right, Amazon tells me I have read the following recently...
If you want an uncomfortable and gripping read, check out The Troop by Nick Cutter. OH MY GOD there is some unpleasantness in that book.
Dave Gorman's Googlewhack Adventure was a good chuckle.
The Truth About Uri Geller by James Randi is an amazing expose (if a bit old now) of the worlds most infamous spoon-bending liar.
Really enjoyed Raising Steam by some guy called Terry Pratchett. What a loss.
Currently enjoying The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer. Excellent "voice".
TM
Read Viv Albertine "Boys Clothes Music" - Excellent if you were into that musical era
Reading "Let A Soldier Die", William E. Holland - Vietnam "classic", rather dull & disappointing.
Up next... The Girl On The Train.. supposed to be something special, in what way, I'm not sure!
Just started Longitude
OP
When you are finished,go to the Royal Observatory at Greenwich.
The watches are things of beauty.
Just finished [b]The Martian[/b] .
Excellent,and I hope that the film does it justice.
+1 for The Martian.
TM
Oh, and sort of like a book (god dammit it's my thread and I'll hijack it if I want to!) Dan Carlin's Hardcore History. A podcast with a recent 5-part series on the First World War. [b]Blueprint for Armageddon [/b]
Each part's 3 or 4 hours long, it's a monster. Some great insights into the machinations of the war and how and why it started. I've not put much thought into it since school. Loads of "Bloody hell, I had no idea... that makes sense" moments.
Well worth listening to, even if you think you're not the military history type - I don't think I am. And anyway, there's military history and world history. You probably need a decent train or car commute to give you enough spare time to properly get stuck into it without being distracted.
OP
When you are finished,go to the Royal Observatory at Greenwich.
The watches are things of beauty.
It's on the list! Bumping it's way up though! My Grandpa started making clocks when he retired. I've got a skeleton clock of his with a grasshopper escapement - one of Harrison's I think. Beautiful to watch - until it stops! Not quite up to Harrison's standards, sorry Grandpa!
Just finished Go Set a Watchman, and not sure yet....
Started on Do No Harm by Henry Marsh. very good so far
Just finished - "A Spy Among Friends" by Ben Macintyre. Brilliant portrayal of the Philby Affair, read more like a thriller than a factual history.
Just started "Ten Million Aliens" by Simon Barnes. His usual writing style, which is rather more journalistic than literary, but still full of fascination and amusement.
Oh, and sort of like a book (god dammit it's my thread and I'll hijack it if I want to!) Dan Carlin's Hardcore History
I like Hardcore History, but be aware he's an entertainer not a professional historian.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1r8jui/is_dan_carlin_reputable/
(AskHistorians is an excellent read if you like history, too!)
I'd like to apologise for my misuse of "'" earlier in the thread.
Just finished Suite Française (which is the biggest pile of drivel I have ever read), salmon fishing in the Yemen, water for elephants and ultra marathon man. Debating whether to carry on raiding my sisters bookcase for more tosh or to get round the charity shops to find something better.
I have So anyway (John Cleese) and unbroken of my own with me so may plough through those first.
I've been reading all the jack reacher books over the last few months. Totally brainless but a bit of a change from the usual mountaineering and history books i usually read.
Just started Surely You're Joking Mr Feynman, quality stuff. 🙂
cheers mogrim, I had that impression of him anyway - I think it's quite easy* to distinguish his conjecture from other's theories and from facts and events. I think he's quite honest in telegraphing where these stop and start.
*Although it's possible that I'm wrong, and it isn't!
I've stalled part way thoguh Norman Davies' [i]Europe[/i] but the 45 page intro was has stuck with me - essentially a history of histories of Europe and the difficulty in writing your own.
Read a bit of that in my time. McNab etc. "Oooh, I just read a book in a train journey!"Totally brainless
Quite enjoyed The Martian. There was a thread on it on here which recommended The Stone Man, which I just finished. That was good.
Recently finished [b]Domestique by Charly Wegelius[/b]. Really enjoyed it, quite an interesting insight into the life a pro cyclist who isn't one of the superstars of the team.
Currently about 3/4 way through [b]The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt[/b]. A bit slow going in parts but very well written. I'll reserve judgement until I've finished but I think I'm enjoying it although some days I can't be sure.
In the middle of [b] altered carbon[/b] by Richard Morgan. Cyberpunk/detectivey thriller. Good read!
OP - following on from 'Unsung Hero', Shackleton's 'South' is free on the Kindle. It uses quite a bit of antiquated language, and is a little dry in places, but it's bloody facinating.
I'll have to put Crean's book on my shortlist.
I usually read only non-fiction, so the wife set me a challenge of reading more fiction. I'm currently about 4 books into Pratchett...
Currently reading a collection of short stories 'Best SF of the year number 16', which dates from around 1997/8, found it along with around four hundred other ebooks of a slightly iffy provenance on a site that no longer seems to be live.
A lot of now well-known names who were just getting going, and a lot of bloody good stories. That's on the phone/pad. I'm also reading Robert Macfarlaine's [i]Landmarks[/i] in a hardcover I got for £2.30 from the States, having bought his book [i]The Old Ways[/i] as a paperback, loved what I was reading and found a hardcover online, so I can give the first one to a friend for Christmas, I also got his first little book [i]The Holloway[/i] and read that very quickly, and I've also got his book [i]The Wild Places[/i] as a hardcover for when I've finished the current one.
After those I've got [i]Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces Of Anonymous [/i], by Gabriella Coleman, and [i]I've Always Kept A Unicorn: The Biography of Sandy Denny[/i], byMick Houghton, [i]Rock Stars Stole My Life[/i], by Mark Ellen, and [i]How Music Got Free[/i], byStephen Witt.
The last two were birthday presents from a mate.
Should keep me ticking over for a bit.
Guy Martins autobiography. Excellent.
Just finished The Long War series, Terry Pratchett / Stephen Baxter collaberation. Found it a bit meh to be honest. Wanted to like it as a Pratchett fan but still got a few discworld books to hit yet.
Now reading The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch. Third part of Locke Lamora series and loving it.
Also loved The Martian as above and also hope the film doesn't ruin it.
only really read books when im on holiday, but had 2 this year and got to read......
'boys boys boys clothes clothes clothes music music music' by viv albertine - bloody excellent, best ive read in a long time.
'anger is an energy' by john lydon - quite good
'24 hr party people' - good
and lastly 'and the ass saw the angel' by nick cave. wtf goes through that blokes mind, hes just a genius.
[i]and lastly 'and the ass saw the angel' by nick cave. wtf goes through that blokes mind, hes just a genius.[/i]
You have to read the Death of Bunny Munro.
You have to read the Death of Bunny Munro.
thanks for the heads up, ill go look for it.
My pile of unread books:
Cormac McCarthy, No Country for old men
Sue Townsend, No 10
Leslie Thomas, Tropic of Ruislip
Francis Wheen, How MumboJumbo conquered the World
Peter Cook, Tragically I was an only Twin.
All intended reading following surgery, but I heal well...
I need to get the Grapes of Wrath .
Currently reading One Man and his bike , by Mike Carter.
There was a review on this site .
Very enjoyable, nice light reading that keeps drawing yo in.
Romping thru Germany, Memories of a Nation, which is an excellent read. Got Yeah, Yeah, Yeah by Bob Stanley under the bedside table, alongside Bruce (Springsteen) bio by Peter Carlin. Intend working thru the remastered CDs as I read. Swithered over the Viv Albertine book, DezB, so interested to hear your opinion - added to the want list. Must find my copy of Cut - must be in the attic somewhere.
Yep, also loved [b]The Martian[/b]. Also just finished [b]The Girl On The Train[/b], a thriller, which was a real page turner. Currently back to reading another [b]Jack Reacher[/b] novel, on the 6th one, the guy's a total bell end but I think that's why I like reading them! 😉
Peter Cook, Tragically I was an only Twin.
Be careful where you read that. Very loud laughter may ensue. Very, very funny stuff.
Just started the final book of the Silo Trilogy by Hugh Downey that someone here recommended on an earlier thread. Really like the books and has kept my attention throughout.
Longitude (Sobel) was amazing, couldn't put it down. Currently reading some social anthropology/psychology:
Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha
A very accessible, stimulating and engaging read.
Started on Do No Harm by Henry Marsh. very good so far
I just finished that couple of weeks ago. Brilliant book, probably the best book I've ever read.
I've just started on the first of the Flashman series. So far so good.
BillMC - MemberLongitude (Sobel) was amazing, couldn't put it down.
Interesting - I read Galileo's Daughter by Sobel a few years ago, and didn't enjoy it at all. There are a few other books by her I'm interested in, but G's D has really put me off.
Just finished The Facts of Life by Graham Joyce. He's an author I found last year and am really enjoying working through his books. (Vaguely in the style of Alan Garner, Robert Holdstock. Sort of..)
About to start another Dying Earth book by Jack Vance. Excellent classic SF/fantasy, I hope.
Highly recommend the Ghost Runner
If he'd lived anywhere less inconspicuous a film would been made years ago....
In the last few weeks I've read:
christopher Fowler - Bryant & May - The Burning Man
Charles Stross - The Annihilation Score
peter Fhamilton - The Naked God
Monday Kaling - Is everyone hanging out without me?
Darren Humphries - London Dark
Neal Stephenson - Seveneves
And I've just started
James Craig - Nobody's Hero
Rowan Moore - Why we build
Jonathan Meades - Museum without walls
And as long term projects
Jim Baggott - Atomic
David Edgerton - Britains War Machine
Tom Vanderbilt - Traffic
toppers3933 - MemberI've been reading all the jack reacher books over the last few months. Totally brainless but a bit of a change from the usual mountaineering and history books i usually read.
Interesting how the character evolved. Jack used to wear a watch. Then at some point he didn't need one because he always knew what time it was! Don't know what his body count is, but in a few of the books they needed a backhoe to dispose of them.
Can't handle midget Tom Cruise playing the role in the film, since Reacher is always described as huge, and much of the narrative is devoted to reactions to his size. I would have suggested The Rock (Duane Johnson) but he is now pumped up to cartoon levels. Maybe Dolph Lundgren, but he's getting a little old.
Oh yeah, I wrote [url= http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/features/pez-bookshelf-fat-tire-flyer/#.VF4e08nYf30 ]a book[/url] [url= http://bikeretrogrouch.blogspot.com/2014/10/recommended-read-fat-tire-flyer.html ]myself[/url], [url= http://boingboing.net/2014/10/27/fat-tire-flyer-repack-and-the.html ]and[/url] [url= http://winkbooks.net/post/101086652193/fat-tire-flyer-life-in-the-repack-lane-fat-tire ]it's[/url] [url= http://thejerseypocket.cc/2014/11/18/fat-tire-flyer-repack-mountain-bike-charlie-kelly/ ]about[/url] [url= http://outtherecolorado.com/rider-in-residence-memoir-details-thrilling-rough-riding-origin-of-mountain-biking/article/1544217/ ]mountain[/url] [url= http://dirtragmag.com/book-excerpt-fat-tire-flyer-by-charlie-kelly/ ]biking[/url].
Been rereading early Tom Sharpe stuff "Indecent Exposure" etc - still causes spluttering 🙂
Also an eBook [url= http://www.thecheappages.com/alone_fenger/alone_contents.html ]by Frederic Fenger[/url], ideal if you like mucking about in small (very) boats, and his cruise through the West Indies on a sailing canoe in the 1910s.
Just finished Bad Omens.... awesome Pratchett stuff!
Jo Nesbo's The Bat has been a good holiday read, and for a bit of light relief I'm partway through The Rise of Islamic State by Patrick Cockburn.
I'm on my annual book reading bash - just completed [b]I am Pilgrim[/b] by the chap who wrote several Mad Max screenplays. Very good modern day detective novel/ thriller.
[b]Cryptonomicon[/b] sat in front of me, partially blocking the view + coffee, waiting to be opened. I could opt for [b]The Rider[/b] first as it looks rather lighter.
[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dividing-Great-John-Metcalfe-ebook/dp/B005U0OHTA/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1439101447&sr=8-1 ]Dividing the Great [/url]
Cryptonomicon is great, persevere with it.
If you like it then The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon is worth reading (much, much shorter as well).
Cryptonomicon is great, persevere with it.
Well, the first half is great, the second half is a mess, imo. 🙂
Probably the best book I've ever read:
[img] 
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I'm gutted as I seem to have lost my copy.
dannyh - I've just bought a 2nd hand copy from amazon. £0.01 + £2.80 postage.
Forgot about [b]Geronimo[/b] by Tim Moore - riding the 1914 Giro d'Italia route on a period bike. Very funny.
idlejon - Longitude's very short - get stuck in!
Interesting - I read Galileo's Daughter by Sobel a few years ago, and didn't enjoy it at all. There are a few other books by her I'm interested in, but G's D has really put me off.
I read Longitude and loved it, then tried another by Sobel and couldn't get on with it at all. Longitude is ace. 🙂
I recently read Ian Banks last book, The Quarry. I've read all of his (non-sci-fi) books over the years and have enjoyed every single word he's written.
I finished it on the plane home from a holiday a few weeks ago and cried for most of the flight: it felt like I'd lost a best friend. The obvious autobiographical nature of the book gave a typically Banks' insight into his own view of life, his character, his illness and his impending death.
Very sad, but if you've ever read a Banks novel and identified with any of his heroes, this book should be on your reading list. Just don't read the end in public!
Not long finished:
Their Lips Speak Of Mischief by Alan Warner, a Withnail-ish departure from his normal settings for one of my favourite authors;
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, feminist dystopia which is depressingly more relevant now than when it was written;
Harvest by John Crace, which I'd been meaning to read for ages and finally got to on holiday the other week. Really good.
Just started on We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas, which looks quite similar in many ways to Jonathan Franzen's wonderful The Corrections. Got Kim Gordon's Girl In A Band waiting there too.
You have to read the Death of Bunny Munro.
I thought this was very poor, a real one trick pony of a book. Once you got the idea that the central character was utterly depraved it really didn't have much else to offer.
Just finished [b]The Mime Order[/b] by [i]Samantha Shannon[/i], the sequel to her début novel [b]The Bone Season[/b]. Liner notes indicate that the début was a massive success - loads of translations, movie rights sold for loads of money. The series is planned to run to seven books and I can hardly wait, the first two were excellent, I can see why the first generated such interest - a new take on the sci-fi / fantasy genre. Worth a look
idlejon - Longitude's very short - get stuck in!
Ok boss. 😀
Quite enjoyed The Martian. There was a thread on it on here which recommended The Stone Man, which I just finished. That was good.
Just started The Stone Man. Been looking for some good science fiction since finishing the Martian, and I thought I'd give this a punt based on your recommendation. Not very far in at all really, but it's already got me gripped.
Recently read Stone Man, & Tin Men, the first being the better of the two, though neither are bad books, but neither really a patch on The Martian. Found Neal Stephenson "Seveneves" to be a bit of a departure from his normal style, and ppl expecting more of his old style will be disappointed, still found it a good read in a more "sci-fi epic" way.
Got lined up... John Scalzi's "The End of All Things" (might have to re-read "The human division" again, just because I like it so much) also have James S. A. Corey's "Nemesis Games" along with Terry Hayes "I am Pilgrim"
Also just finished One Man And His Bike.
Absolutely brilliant ,so many places I now want to visit.
Why no pictures in the book though?
Hemingway's [b]The Old Man and the Sea[/b] tuned up in the post last week. Read it over a a couple of train rides.
I don't think I've been so emotionally overwhelmed on finishing a book for a long time. So much said with so little.
Also finished [b]The Old Man and the Sea[/b], fantastic, joins the will read again (and again) pile.
Also finished [b]Half a War[/b] by Joe Abercrombie, another very good read if you like light fantasy, good end to the trilogy. I don't think anyone does hard bastards quite as good.
Need to have a peruse through this thread for something else to read.
@Gatsby read the quarry last year might have been the only fiction I read last year I thoroughly enjoyed it. Banks was one of the greats.
Read Extreme Centre by Tariff Ali it's a political polemic and would probably upset anyone of a Daily Fail disposition.
Currently reading The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay as it's an uplifting page turner.
I have just finished The Iron Curtain by Anne Applebaum and now on the classic Riddle of the Sands. Impending major medical work sees me building up a good stash to read, I have an atlas on the history of Russia (restless Empire) as well as book on Russia leading up to the Great War (Towards the Flame) and a really interesting looking book on East Prussia. Am forcing myself not to read them!
If you liked Longitude, there is John Keay's The Great Arc, the story of surveying in India from the southern tip to the height of Everest.
Recently finished: Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere and John Wyndham's The Chrysalids.
Currently reading: Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness (Arab travellers in the Far North). Also a book about Norse Mythology, forget what it's called though...
I've run out of cycle touring books, so just reading anything that comes up cheap / free, on Kindle. Currently reading Carlton Leech's book about his time as a general thug / minder. I wouldn't mess with him... 🙂
Next up will be re-reading Justin Kronin's "The Passage" & "The Twelve", a post apocalyptic zombie fest, hopefully in time for the third & final part to come out. Zombie fest probably does them an injustice, as they are brilliantly written.