Reply With Quote+1Originally Posted by alexaff
I read this a few years ago, a harrowing true life tale of a long stretch in a Thai prison. Not everyone has a nice time when staying in Thailand.
Just finished "the damage done" by Warren Fellows.
Excellent read :)
+1
I read this a few years ago, a harrowing true life tale of a long stretch in a Thai prison. Not everyone has a nice time when staying in Thailand.
Fraser also wrote a memoir of the Burma campaign. The opening line of the book is attention grabbing, if not exactly PC. Quartered Safe Out Here
Best wishes,
Bob
I decided to persevere and recently read the second in the series, Post Captain. I have to say once I've accustomed myself to O'Brien's writing style (scenes and timelines change very abruptly) I've been able to enjoy the characters and the story quite a bit more. I could have done with less romance and more sea action but I still liked it enough to want to read further. Thanks for all the comments here.Have to agree with rfrazier here - O'Brien's are head and shoulders above the rest. If you can I would persevere.Like I said, I'm apparently in the minority. Just couldn't bond with it.
Hornblower is okay. So are the ones by Alexander Kent. But the O'Brien books are the best by far. :twisted:
Best wishes,
Bob
Rick
For Napoleonic era stuff Forester is in second place I would say, and worth reading in its won right and perhaps useful as a primer for Aubrey/Maturin. One snippet about the Hornblower books is that they weren't written in chronological order, so you do occasionally come across slight out-trades.
An alternative worth seeking out (though not covering the same era) is Alexander Fullerton's Everard novels, especially The Blooding of the Guns (a superb fictionalised acocunt of the Battle of Jutland) and Sixty Minutes for St. George (the raid on Zeebrugge). Can be hard to find though.
Rick
longitude by dava sobel.very interesting and tells the story of the world's first chronograph
Apologies if it has been mentioned, but I enjoyed 'The Seige of Krishnapur' by J G Farrell.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Siege-Krishnapu ... 1857994914
I also still love the Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy books, how many times have I read them...
Hi All,
After going to see one of his lectures/presentations a while back I recently bought and just finished "PsychoVertical" by Andy Kirkpatrick, absolutely blinkin' superb book.
A must for all you cragrats,
Richie :)
Just read Tom Sharpe's "The Throwback", now I'm reading "A Blott on the Landscape" which is just as ridiculous, outrageous and superbly funny.
Touching From A Distance by Deborah Curtis. Very interesting biog of Ian Curtis and Joy Division, which was eventually turned into the film Control a couple of years ago.
Millers guide to wristwatches...sad I know but just caught the bug recently and cant get enough.
Reading this at the moment: The Big Con: The True Story of How Washington Got Hoodwinked and Hijacked by Crackpot Economics. As it's a single-issue book about (largely) single-issue politics, it can get a little dull, although there's an interesting chapter on how perceptions of personal character are handled in the US media and the impact that it can have - worth reading for that alone.
I was on holiday. No forums. Bought a book. An excellent book -
Hi,
Just finished "Kim" by Rudyard Kipling, suprb reading, an "oldie but goodie". An excellent book from the man who makes "exceedingly good cakes" in his spare time, obviously an all rounder !
Cheers, Richie :wink:
3 Para...This is war - Patrick Bishop reads like an Andy McNab novel. Bloody good read makes you want to support our boy's n girls even more.
just finished seven miles down by jaques piccard, very good read!!
cheers
mike :wink:
One more vote for Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series - just finished re-reading all 20 (or 19.5 really) for the fourth time. They're as comforting and enjoyable as a as a good cigar and a glass of decent whisky by a peat fire - escapism of the finest sort!I decided to persevere and recently read the second in the series, Post Captain. I have to say once I've accustomed myself to O'Brien's writing style (scenes and timelines change very abruptly) I've been able to enjoy the characters and the story quite a bit more. I could have done with less romance and more sea action but I still liked it enough to want to read further. Thanks for all the comments here.Have to agree with rfrazier here - O'Brien's are head and shoulders above the rest. If you can I would persevere.Like I said, I'm apparently in the minority. Just couldn't bond with it.
Hornblower is okay. So are the ones by Alexander Kent. But the O'Brien books are the best by far. :twisted:
Best wishes,
Bob
Rick
For Napoleonic era stuff Forester is in second place I would say, and worth reading in its won right and perhaps useful as a primer for Aubrey/Maturin. One snippet about the Hornblower books is that they weren't written in chronological order, so you do occasionally come across slight out-trades.
An alternative worth seeking out (though not covering the same era) is Alexander Fullerton's Everard novels, especially The Blooding of the Guns (a superb fictionalised acocunt of the Battle of Jutland) and Sixty Minutes for St. George (the raid on Zeebrugge). Can be hard to find though.
Rick
I've just finished reading The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell, which is the fictional memoir of an SS officer who assisted in the massacre of Jews during World War II. It won extravagant praise from the French press (it was originally written and published in French, and won the Prix Goncourt - one critic said it was "a new War and Peace") which I don't feel it deserved. It's one of the more disturbing books I've read and the narrator's obsession with all matters scatological was a bit off-putting.
That said, it is undeniably well-researched, the writing is very good in parts and it's probably the most thought-provoking book I've read in the past few years. If you want to try something quite different, it might be worth a shot.
I have that on the shelf waiting to go. Be interesting to see what it's like, although you're right in that whilst the French media have been raving over it, it's received more muted reviews over here, although I feel that sometimes the British press has a minor bias against books written in French, almost as though it's a bit of a cheek for them to have the first look in rather than the dominant anglophone media.
I'd be interested to hear what you think of it. I hadn't read the UK reviews and in light of the rave reviews from French critics splashed over the back cover, I did wonder whether I'd missed something...
Pilgrim by Timothy Findley.
I haven't got a clue as to what it is about. It has a character, Pilgrim, who is either mad or can't die. It has Karl Jung in it, who is mad and/or helps those who are mad.
I greatly enjoyed reading it..
Best wishes,
Bob
Looking for a good "bog book" that I can just dip into for (ahem) 10 minutes at a time - got any suggestions?
I have re-read just about every Jeremy Clarkson paperback out there many times. They were ideal from the topic, grumpiness and length of each article... bearing in mind the location/time available.
Motorsport, humour and history tend to be the order of the day, but other genres that fit the available timescale would be quite plausible.
Any suggestions for good toilet reading?
The Onion : Our Dumb Century
Clive James : Flying Visits ( out of print I think but well worth grabbing if you find it )
And the book that even it's author suggests be placed within grasping distance of the noble porcelain ... Paperweight, by Stephen Fry
TT
Top Tips TT (can't beat some alliteration when talking about literature :mrgreen: )
Cheers mate and spot on by the look of it :thumbleft:
Jason Bourne books
I have just ordered Cocky about curtis warren and The Guv'nor about Lenny Mclean from amazon, looking forward to reading them 8)
"Silence on Monte Sole" by Jack Olsen
I just read the above book, written by Jack Olsen (who also wrote "The Climb up to Hell" about the Kurz/Harrer/ Heckmarl epic on The North Face of the Eiger), it is quite a chilling true story about the killing by the Waffen SS of over 700 ( figures vary ) civilians in the Marzabatto region of Italy. A compelling and sometimes disturbing read.
I didn't study much history after the age of 14 at school, but I've just finished reading Anthony Beevor's D-Day, Berlin and Stalingrad. I don't have sufficient knowledge to challenge any of his discussion but I found all three books excellent. Stalingrad in particular brings to life the horrors of that time - perfect winter reading as the nights close in. Next on my list is his account of the Spanish Civil War - The Battle for Spain, another conflict I am woefully under informed on.
Another recommendation for "Vulcan 607".
All history should be like this
I would like to recomend The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga ... This book won the Booker prize last year I think..
all about one mans path from being born in the ' darkness ' & extreme poverty of rural India to successful entrepeneur, and the two India's that co exist side by side..
not normally something I would search out or buy but it was passed to me on holiday and is a very entertaining, colourful read and v easy to get into... def the best book out 4 or 5 I got through...
Just finished a couple of books by Barry Eisler in the John Rain series - found them easy to read and very entertaining. Need to source the (3) remaining titles to complete the series.
Just bought - haven't started reading it properly yet so just going on first impressions - The Three Emperors by Miranda Carter. Looks good and is about a fascinating period of history when the 19th century finally became the 20th, using Hobsbawm's analysis - I dislike Hobsbawm as a man and have reservations about him as an historian, but I do like his long 19th century - short 20th century idea.
The Count of Monte-Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
Very highly recommended.
Love, death, vengeance, politics, adventure, mystery, war, gossip, history and philosophy. It's all there. Has been filmed, abridged, homaged and acknowledged continuously, on film in direct adaptations and "inspirations" ( The Shawshank Redemption), in literature by many ( including Stephen Fry whose "The Stars' Tennis Balls" he admits is a straight steal, though I felt it was poor ) and also by Jeffrey Archer.
In TT's humble opinion, the original book is the superior experience. My ancient French copy is good for the excellent accompanying line drawings only, as I admit my French is well, too ancient.
Not a short book, but one I ploughed through rapidly and with great enjoyment*.
TT
*Reading it's several thousand pages on the iPhone using an application called "Classics". Easy on the eyes, and with a great "book feel" that just gets the technology out of your way. Worth the (small) fee.
I agree, The Count of Monte Cristo is one of the all time great adventure novels. I'm going to read it to my son in a year or two when he's old enough to appreciate it.
"the solitude of prime numbers"
Best book i've read in ages..
Seconded. That is a funny story; quirky, scary and thought provocing at the same time. Be sure to get a decent example though, mine literally fell apart in my hands when I was reading it. Poor glue work :?
That can be quite useful. I have a book[1] I've used for teaching for many years. There are some passages I like to quote from it when discussing things. I don't need to mark the pages any more, as the book binding has completely come apart in those places. So, the book is now in about 15 slices. ;)
[1]Utilitarianism and On Liberty. A pretty good read, too.
Best wishes,
Bob
I suspect it can be tremendous for teaching purposes but I found it to be slightly annoying to have a 321 pages long book split it self into roughly 160 segments. Still though, good read.That can be quite useful. I have a book[1] I've used for teaching for many years. There are some passages I like to quote from it when discussing things. I don't need to mark the pages any more, as the book binding has completely come apart in those places. So, the book is now in about 15 slices. ;)
(I see how it can be fitting that the book you mention actually consists of several writings in one. Are the 15 slices per chance following these separate texts?)
They cut across the texts, and follow my interests. So, for example, there is a bit on rights to which I make reference, and it is the beginning of a slice. (It is about 47 years old. I bought it in '78 already well used.)
Best wishes,
Bob
Have just taken delivery of Alan Clark - the Biography by Ion Trewin and Military Timepieces 1880-1990 by Weslowski. Looking forward to starting the former on the train home tonight and dipping into the other periodically.
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
Marching powder by rusty young was a very enjoyable read, the biography of a convicted drug smuggler in a south american prison. Finished the book in less than 4 days, which is good going for me!
Currently reading killing pablo which again is about a cocaine smuggler.
I seem to have a thing for smugglers this month?!
Read "Mr Nice" ?
quite funny, for a book about a Welsh drug smuggler...
howard marks - Just waiting for the misses to finish reading it before i get my mits on it.
Freakanomics and Superfreakonomics, both by Steven Levitt. Basically looking at everyday problems and issues and trying to solve them using economic principles. i promise you it is not as dull as it sounds, fascinating and entertaining.
"Mr.Nice" is a cracker, very witty fella, read it nearly 10 years ago on holiday !!Read "Mr Nice" ?
quite funny, for a book about a Welsh drug smuggler...
Re. Escobar, recently read the new one by his brother called, not surprisingly, "Escobar" :)
A Million Bullets!
Read in a week, as close as it gets to reality
RIAC
Just finished Dan Browns new book the Lost Symbol - crap, same old same old but not as good as A&D or TDVC.
Just finished Dr. NO, fantastic, working my way thru the Bond books and all are great, SOOOO much better than the films with real grit.
Also just finished James Patterson's Cross Country - a pale imitiation of the first of the Alex Cross books, not very convincing.
Also just finished A Death in Tuscany by Michele Giuttari - enjoyed this, very easy reading with a decent plot although you could see some of the things coming from a way off but would recommend. Now want to go and get the other one he has written as i enjoyed this.
I enjoyed Howard marks' book
Just finished it recently myself. What I tell people is that I think Dan Brown is trying too hard to be like Dan Brown in this one. It doesn't really distinguish itself from the rash of copy-cat novels that came out from others after the DaVinci Code. That said, I still got some entertainment out of it. I'm just glad I didn't pay for it.
Rick
Actually yes,I just finished "Focaults pendulum" by Umberto Eco.Highly recommended,although a bit on the heavy side mind you.
But perhaps thats due to the fact that english is not my first language.
Other than that,I`d recommend any of Anthony Beevors books on WW2.If you`re into history that is.
Marius:blackeye:
:shock: i could've wrote that myself. lost symbol - total w**k. just started casino royale.haven't bothered with james patterson for a while now as i've convinced myself he doesn't even write some of the books himself any more,they are that bad, which is a shame as the first alex cross books were very good.
cheers,mick
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