Books discussion

[anakayub]

Aside from boring textbooks, I've been reading Osprey books, as I've not bought new books in a year, and the last military history book I bought was probably 3 years ago. Just bought the Siege of Acre 1291 and Battle of Yarmuk 636, and finished both in less than a week. Currently I'm reading God's Warriors on scribd.com, as the bookstore at my college city doesn't sell military history books (they actually sell Economist mags 2 weeks late); I bought the previous books when I returned home from college.

[Thrawn]

Rereading sherlock holmes ^__^

[Ardent]

I've just finished Brian Lumley's Necroscope. Not exactly my cup of tea, but not that bad - the story is about a guy comunicating with the dead and a war between paranormal departments of soviet and UK secret service.
I'm also about half through the Necroscope 3 - The source which is mostly about Vamphyri (something like the traditional vampire) and their origin. Russian paranormal department of KGB is involved.

Apart of that I'm reading Bram Stoker's Dracula and I have to say I really love the way it is written. I think it's pretty hard to write a consistent work based on mail, telegraph and diary notes and retaining the authentic feel of the media (mail etc), but Bram Stoker did it and I think I can see now why many of my friends consider this book a must-read.

Apart of that I'm also reading Sergey Ljukanenkos Night Watch in Russian and probably will read it for another half a year or so, cause my Russian is pretty basic

[turin]

Apart of that I'm reading Bram Stoker's Dracula and I have to say I really love the way it is written. I think it's pretty hard to write a consistent work based on mail, telegraph and diary notes and retaining the authentic feel of the media (mail etc), but Bram Stoker did it and I think I can see now why many of my friends consider this book a must-read.

Completely agree. Dracula is awesome.

[Edguy_Forever]

I read Bram Stoker's Dracula when I was a lot younger, so I'm pretty sure I missed a lot of nuances of the book. I think I'll give it another read.

I personally would recommend Mary Shelly's Frankenstein along the same lines. Did it ever annoy anyone else that the movie interpretation of the monster was ultra stupid? I thought one of the best parts of the book was that good old Frankie was a very complex and human character.

I am currently searching for a good beginner's wood carving book, I guess that doesn't strictly count, but its the best I can do since I am between books.

[Turuk]

The best part of reading Bram Stroker's Dracula is that if you have seen any of the old movies about him or even newer movies like Van Helsing, it's interesting to to make comparisons to how closely popular media follows the actual literature. Also, it is exceedingly well-written and really conveys a sense of horror to the reader about the undead abomination, even to our generation which is fairly desensitized.

[HomerJ]

Rereading sherlock holmes ^__^

I actually never stopped reading Holmes' stories. I even have a couple of good... what do you call it... radio dramas? There was this one very popular voice actor here in Germany, Peter Pasetti, who did Holmes very uniquely.

Greetz
HomerJ

[cobra]

Finished "The Christmas Sweater", its was a great book!

Anyone, have any good suggestions?

[Cloud]

Earth-Thunder by Patrick Tilley (6th [and final I think] book of the Amtrak Wars series).

It's a very old series (and quite rare too to my knowledge) that hasn't dated (Earth-Thunder was first published 1990). It takes place on Earth, after what you could probably call a cataclysm. America is home to two people - the Amtrak Federation who live in containment for the most part to shield them from the toxic wasteland outside. And the Mutes, those with a resistance to the toxic outer world. Despite being futuristic it has strong fantasy ties too, the whole series is worth a read.


The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks.

A dark fantasy world of magic and assassination. I won't say anything more because the plot has plenty of twists, but definitely one to look for if you like the fantasy genre.



Mort by Terry Pratchet.

I always have a Pratchet on the go, and Mort is one of my all time favourites. All that needs doing is quoting the blurb: "Death comes to us all, when he came to Mort he offered him a job."
It's funny and it's a great story, what more could you ask for?

[Noy]

So since the start of this thread I've read a few books, though I failed to finish Team of Rivals.

Really the only true fun reading I had was Ngal's Saga, a 1200 year old Icelandic epic of several decades of clan warfare involving one family.

I'll limit my comments on work related stuff to only three books I've read in the last month.

Amb. James Dobbins After the Taliban.

A senior State Department official who was charged with the initial groundwork after the fall of the Taliban, Dobbins' gives a real insider account of what occurred and critically analyses his own failings as well as those of the administration. There's nothing too shocking that hasn't already been uncovered by the likes of Bob Woodward and Thomas Ricks, particularly about the failings of the Pentagon under Secretary Rumsfeld. However its really gives a sense of where things went wrong in Afghanistan based on the dynamics on the ground, in the Bush administration, and internationally.

Amin Tarzi and Robert Crews The Taliban and the Crisis of Afghanistan Harvard University Press

This book, an edited volume containing a dozen articles on the Taliban movement, both before 9/11 and afterwards. I think the book focuses a bit too much on the pre-9/11 taliban, with really only one article that focuses exclusively on the present movement. Yet the book does an excellent job of assessing the characteristics of the movement and identifying the continuities that link it to the present movement. It shows how the movement is not monolithic nor an accurate manifestation of Afghan political desires.

Ian Talbot Pakistan: A Modern History Palgrave MacMillan.

I've not finished this book, but I really like what I've read. It covers the development of Pakistan's political institutions, from the pre-independence days to the modern era. Talbot seeks to bring nuance to the study of Pakistan's politics. He breaks down the image of its founding myth and showing how the internal divisions at the country's creation created a unstable foundation for future political development. Its exceptionally well researched, which actually is a problem; given the number of actors involved a reader can get easily lost in the details. Yet its still quite an impressive work, which offers one of the most compelling explanations of the country's perennial
weaknesses.

[LemonTea]

Reading a biography of Richard Nixon written by Conrad Black. It's pretty well written and surprisingly not boring for a biography.

[HomerJ]

I can't believe how many people read, what I would call 'heavy' literature here (political, historical...). And there's not even the possibility that most of you are just showing off because you actually discuss those books.

I am reading a newer Stephen King "Cell" right now which gives me some chills from time to time.
Btw, those of you interested in science, did anyone read this book? I'm working through it slowly(it is free accessible online) and find the beginning very fascinating, I wonder if anybody has already read it.

Greetz
HomerJ

Edit: Added A New Kind of Science

[cobra]

The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks.

A dark fantasy world of magic and assassination. I won't say anything more because the plot has plenty of twists, but definitely one to look for if you like the fantasy genre.

I think I'll go with this one.

Thanks!

[Skizzaltix]

I'm debating whether I want to reread Isaac Asimov's Chronology of Science and Discovery, or start on Voyage of the Beagle...

In the meantime, I'm reading Icelandic comic books. They don't tell you where each particular volume comes in the series, but it's okay, because all you have to do is flip through and see who's still alive in each one if you want to piece together the chronology.

[Scubaforce]

I am reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
I am not a fan so far.