372 replies to this topic

[cousin it]

No, I picked up the six volume version and have read one volume so far. I've really enjoyed reading about the events leading up to war, including all the efforts at technological advancement, the passing of conscription, etc.

Dude, get on it! The last book was the one that I found most interesting. He gives great detail about the conferences at Yalta and Potsdam. Sometimes, I still get angry at the duplicity of Molotov and Stalin and the naivete of Truman and Eisenhower.

[Abaddon]

Finished The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie last week. Loved it, although you could tell it was very much the first book of a trilogy. The plot advances so little it almost felt like a prologue. I didn't get gripped by it, which is probably why it took me a couple of months to read it, but I still had a lot of fun. Moved straight on to the sequel, Before They Are Hanged. I want to see what happens to these characters!

[TAP]

Has anyone read The Magicians or The Magician King by Lev Grossman - supposed to be Harry Potter for the grown up and cynical. Seem some stellar reviews and some terrible ones.

[Timothy]

they are decent

[Timothy]

King is working on a sequal to "The Shining" called"Dr.Sleep" hope its good.

[AxlsMainMan]

King is working on a sequal to "The Shining" called"Dr.Sleep" hope its good.

He has a book about the JFK assassination coming out in a few weeks too.

Maybe in between Hamlet and Derrida I can read both.

[Timothy]

audiobooks,sir!

[AxlsMainMan]

Men Without Women - Ernest Hemingway
Babylon Revisited and Other Stories - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Both mindblowingly good so far

[Abaddon]

Getting through books quite quickly lately, which I think is down to my Kindle. Finished Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy, which was excellent from start to finish, then moved on to The Hunger Games, which was merely OK. An easy read and entertaining enough, but it was very superficial and felt like a big rip-off. Certainly there's nothing here that wasn't done 100 times better in The Running Man or Battle Royale - both of which it seems to copy liberally. I'll probably check out the sequels but not for a while. Right now I'm reading The Long Walk by Stephen King, which I'm really enjoying. It's got an amazing and terrifying concept, which makes me feel incredibly conscious of my legs and feet every time I pick it up.

[Abaddon]

Finished The Long Walk on Monday. My interest started to wain a little towards the end, but it was good enough. Would definitely recommend it. Now reading Bret Hart's autobiography.

[TAP]

Our book club is now reading A WALK IN THE WOODS: REDISCOVERING AMERICA ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL by Bill Bryson. He's a good writer but I'm already a third done and starting to lose interest. I don't know why they picked that book for a club. Usually there has to be controversy in the book to help stimulate a conversation.

I like Bryson but that book is pretty dull. His first book about Britain is really funny (and accurate) and he has at least pretty harsh book about America which might create more controversy.