What Books Are People Reading Now ?

[MacChine]

Snippet:

is reading intended to be entertainment?...or, a challenge?.'

Depends on your ability. I'm reading Cloud Atlas , re- reading 1984 and a newer book called Freedom.

[tutsiwarrior]

well, yeah...I got a few math and physical science textbooks under me belt and you only read 'em to pass the courses to get yer degree so that you can make loadsa dough...

but the few times when there is an example that successfully illustrates all the forgoing blather is worth all of Harry Potter and Tolkien combined...

just like the instructor that defines a process with a million multi-variable differential equations and then sez: 'a load of bullshit? ain't it? but lets see how it works...' and then proceeds with the most wonderful example possible:

(agitated in front of the chalk board:)

'if we know that this is true then with these parameters the following should be true as well...' with a lot of scrawl and the chalk gives out, sorta like watching a guitarist change a string in mid solo in concert when it breaks...that man is desperate to put something across to you..and when he finishes, his clothing is askew and he is huffing and puffing...and the class remains stunned...then some smart ass who wants to be recognised sez: 'would this remain true over a range of temperatures and could we expect a moderately linear behavior?'

the prof is exhausted and sez: 'plug in the numbers and crank, <deleted>...I ain't got all day t'mess wid ye...'

no, not entertainment but I did want to stand up and cheer...Harry Potter it ain't...

[maxme]

"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"

Wasn't too impressed with Blade Runner when I first watched it ten years ago or so but after have watched it a couple of times, it started to grow on me so I bought the novel the movie was based on. So far I´m not disappointed.

[onionluke]

I am just getting into Stonemouth by Ian Banks .Set in the past decade I was surprised by his north east coast vernacular . Times have definitely changed and it's not only the barrie gadgets , ay fairly .

[spiderman]

"The Secret Teachings of All Ages" written by Manly P. Hall almost 100 yrs ago, layered in truths.

[gennisis]

I've been on a kick for English Naval historical novels....Alexander Kent ,Dudley Pope,E.V.Thompson and many more. Have gone through the Hornblower series and have recently discovered Julian Stockwin and his 'Kydd' series.Started with the first book and the next 4 from Kindle,but this last month have ordered over the internet books 6,7,8,& 9 in the series.Each volume carrying on from the previous one,think there are 3 more to complete the saga....feel like the hero Kydd is part of the family now.

Something more modern was Douglas Reamans 'HMS Ulyseas"...has to be on of the most graphic books of the 2nd world war in the Baltic convoys.

Incidentaly I order second hand books from Abe Books in UK.So far, all have been in near to new condition.Priced from 70 pence each...mind you the postage more than quaduples the price delivered here.

[tutsiwarrior]

me dad got me new volumes of the Hornblower series when I was about 15 but by that age I was more interested in liquor and girls...he was an intelligent man but a hopeless drunk and that money that he paid for them books was the most he ever paid for his son's entertainment...he also bequeathed a used copy of 'The Foreign Legion Omnibus' and how he managed to find that in Bolivia in 1965 has always remained a mystery...

[tutsiwarrior]

there is a wine in California known as Zinfandel which is a burgundy type tipple that I used to like and after the 3rd or 4th boddle I used to ponder: ' zinfandel, zinfandel...where does that come from?...'

and of course it was Fort Zinderneuf from 'Beau Geste' and the locale in the Sahara desert for the brutality of Sgt. Lejaune and the lost heroics of french legionaires in mortal combat with tuareg warriors...'the forgotten of God'...

many years later as I looked at The Zouave by Van Gogh I considered being a legionaire and being skewered by mad jihadist tuaregs in the 1930s..

and there have been many film treatments of 'Beau Geste' as we all know but none of them come close to the text...dumbshite Hollywood producers figure that it's some dumb shwashbuckler for a Saturday matinee with little kids yelling and screaming

good lord were they wrong about that...

Edited April 5, 2013 by tutsiwarrior

[BookMan]

You might remember that I posted with enthusiasm for Don Winslow's book "The Power of the Dog" - so much so that I immediately re-read it. The Don Winslow book that I've just finished was pretty impressive too - it's called "The Winter of Frankie Machine", ISBN 978-0-09-950945-5. This writer has really got my attention, and I must get hold of his other books.

I see that "Savages", (which is another of his books), has been released as a film in Thailand, and I note that he was one of the film's scriptwriters.

My next read will be "Small Town" by Lawrence Block. I'm told he's pretty good but for some reason I've never heard of him, despite the fact that he has at least a dozen books to his credit. Any of you guys read anything of his?

Almost finished 'The Winter Of Frankie Machine' by Don Winslow.

What a fantastic read this is. I started it yesterday and stayed up to about 2.30am reading it. Am looking forward to finishing it tonight.

Had it not been for the enthusiastic recommendation here of Don Winslow I might never have read him.

Thankyou

[Morakot]

Hart, Robert A. de J. (1996). Forest Gardening Forest Gardening: Cultivating an Edible Landscape. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green.

[StreetCowboy]

I've just finished London Fields, by Martin Amis. A strange story, and surprisingly easy to read given how unpleasant most of the characters are - though it's not filth by Irvine Welsh.

SC

[candypants]

Have just finished Jeffrey Archer's Prisoner of Birth, very good and my first read of Jeffrey Archer(never liked him as a person). Can also recommend Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels "men want to be him, women want to be with him "

in a travesty of justice Tom Cruise has been cast as reacher for the first reacher film.

<deleted> were they thinkimg

They were thinking that if one of the biggest stars in history, who has made them billions and whose name alone will sell millions of tickets, wants to star in a film he is also producing -- that sounds just fine.

Tom Cruise goes to Paramount and says he wants to make a movie about Mother Teresa and he will play the lead, they say OK. Not that many movie stars, even very popular ones, have that sort of pull with a studio, but he does.

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa ap

well then they <deleted> up, because box office has fallen far short of the 250 mill required to make a sequel.

what a balls up. i saw it last night. Laughable

[candypants]

I've just finished London Fields, by Martin Amis. A strange story, and surprisingly easy to read given how unpleasant most of the characters are - though it's not filth by Irvine Welsh.

SC

read dead babies by martin amis, brilliant

[SteeleJoe]

Have just finished Jeffrey Archer's Prisoner of Birth, very good and my first read of Jeffrey Archer(never liked him as a person). Can also recommend Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels "men want to be him, women want to be with him "

in a travesty of justice Tom Cruise has been cast as reacher for the first reacher film.

<deleted> were they thinkimg

They were thinking that if one of the biggest stars in history, who has made them billions and whose name alone will sell millions of tickets, wants to star in a film he is also producing -- that sounds just fine.

Tom Cruise goes to Paramount and says he wants to make a movie about Mother Teresa and he will play the lead, they say OK. Not that many movie stars, even very popular ones, have that sort of pull with a studio, but he does.

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa ap

well then they <deleted> up, because box office has fallen far short of the 250 mill required to make a sequel.

what a balls up. i saw it last night. Laughable

I don't doubt it. You wouldn't catch me to paying to watch that, just going by what I knew already.

Even if an actor could make a film good on his/ her own (despite script or director etc), which I don't believe is possible, Tom Cruise is hugely overrated despite a decent actor when in a good role. But Hollywood, along with the occasional worthy endeavor, will make anything if they think it will make money and they DO think certain actors can make a movie on his own - Cruise is quite possibly at the top of that list. But more than that, he's got clout as a producer; if he wants a film made, it'll get made.

Hardly the first time someone green lighted a movie that failed.

[rene123]

Books? Do people on this forum actually read more than one paragraph? Wow! Wonders never cease to happen.

[BookMan]

Books? Do people on this forum actually read more than one paragraph? Wow! Wonders never cease to happen.

Do you include yourself in that group?

[BookMan]

Have just finished Jeffrey Archer's Prisoner of Birth, very good and my first read of Jeffrey Archer(never liked him as a person). Can also recommend Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels "men want to be him, women want to be with him "

in a travesty of justice Tom Cruise has been cast as reacher for the first reacher film.

<deleted> were they thinkimg

They were thinking that if one of the biggest stars in history, who has made them billions and whose name alone will sell millions of tickets, wants to star in a film he is also producing -- that sounds just fine.

Tom Cruise goes to Paramount and says he wants to make a movie about Mother Teresa and he will play the lead, they say OK. Not that many movie stars, even very popular ones, have that sort of pull with a studio, but he does.

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa ap

well then they <deleted> up, because box office has fallen far short of the 250 mill required to make a sequel.

what a balls up. i saw it last night. Laughable

I have just downloaded the movie...Im a big fan of the Jack Reacher series so i'll try and go into the movie with a slightly open mind

[BookMan]

I was fairly sure I was 'following this toppic', but it seemed to have disappeared and I had to click 'follow' again.

Anyone else experience this?

[Ron19]

Just finished " Tandia " by Bryce Coutenay and enjoyed it immensely.The end surprised me,nothing like I thought it would be.Have started " Golden Fox " by Wilbur Smith and the jury is still out on whether it's any good.

Edited April 23, 2013 by Ron19

[BookMan]

Just finished " Tandia " by Bryce Coutenay and enjoyed it immensely.The end surprised me,nothing like I thought it would be.Have started " Golden Fox " by Wilbur Smith and the jury is still out on whether it's any good.

Loved Tandia when I read it

[lazygourmet]

[richardjm65]

My latest reads have been:-

'Intimacy', by Hanif Kureishi. A good read about the inner turmoils of a guy about to leave his wife and family. It has an odd finish.

'Miami Blues', by Charles Willeford. Elmore Leonard says 'No one writes a better crime novel'. I'd like to read more of this guy's stuff.

'Creole Belle', by James Lee Burke. More of Dave Robicheaux's interesting deep south cases. Very good - just what you'd expect from JLB.

'The Death and Life of Bobby Z', by Don Winslow. What can I say about this writer that I have not already said? Another fine book.

Now I'm about one third of the way through 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'. I think it's going to be one of those that you wish were longer. So far, it's great. Have not seen the movie version of it and cannot imagine it being better than the book.

And hey, Rene 123, you don't really think all TV'ers are one paragraph wonders, do you? If so, I'd say you're confining your post reading to the forums where those nasty, rough boys play....

Edited April 26, 2013 by richardjm65

[SteeleJoe]

'Miami Blues', by Charles Willeford. Elmore Leonard says 'No one writes a better crime novel'. I'd like to read more of this guy's stuff.

Whoa...many, many authors - even highbrow ones like Amis or Bellow - say no one writes crime like Elmore Leonard ( and they've made so many movies from his books - most bad but a couple great ones) and I totally agree; for entertainment (as opposed to "serious" thought provoking literature) Leonard is unbeatable as far as I'm concerned.

Will download Charles Willeford now...thanks.

[GarryP]

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the two sequels are excellent reads.

After all the mentions of Elmore Leonard, I will have to try one of his books.

Edited April 26, 2013 by GarryP

[DMC1]

Here's a couple of books that I strangely gave up on half way through. They just didn't quite do it for me.

Sebastian Faulks - 'Charlotte Gray' & Joseph Heller - 'Catch 22'

Edited April 26, 2013 by DMC1

[StreetCowboy]

Here's a couple of books that I strangely gave up on half way through. They just didn't quite do it for me.

Sebastian Faulks - 'Charlotte Gray' & Joseph Heller - 'Catch 22'

I was thinking I might re-read Catch 22; I read it when I was a young lad, and then when I was a lad read a couple of his other books - god Knows, and Picture This. I can't remember very much about them, other than that they were entertaining enough. I don't know where they went to, though. I don't have them any more...

SC

[Ulysses G.]

I really enjoyed Catch 22 when I was young, but when I've flipped through it as an old guy I was not inspired to read it again. It is still very popular with college age kids.

I've read Breakfast of Champions and Slaughterhouse Five by Vonnegut as a teenager, an adult and an old fart and they really hold up for me. The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test stands the test of time for me too.

[Ulysses G.]

'Miami Blues', by Charles Willeford. Elmore Leonard says 'No one writes a better crime novel'. I'd like to read more of this guy's stuff.

Whoa...many, many authors - even highbrow ones like Amis or Bellow - say no one writes crime like Elmore Leonard ( and they've made so many movies from his books - most bad but a couple great ones) and I totally agree; for entertainment (as opposed to "serious" thought provoking literature) Leonard is unbeatable as far as I'm concerned.

Will download Charles Willeford now...thanks.

I'm a big Elmore Leonard fan - only his old cowboy books when he first started are not up to much.

The Charles Williford Hoke Mosely novels are pretty good. Also Cockfighter by him. He wrote a few stinkers, but these are all good.

[SteeleJoe]

'Miami Blues', by Charles Willeford. Elmore Leonard says 'No one writes a better crime novel'. I'd like to read more of this guy's stuff.

Whoa...many, many authors - even highbrow ones like Amis or Bellow - say no one writes crime like Elmore Leonard ( and they've made so many movies from his books - most bad but a couple great ones) and I totally agree; for entertainment (as opposed to "serious" thought provoking literature) Leonard is unbeatable as far as I'm concerned.

Will download Charles Willeford now...thanks.

I'm a big Elmore Leonard fan - only his old cowboy books when he first started are not up to much.

The Charles Williford Hoke Mosely novels are pretty good. Also Cockfighter by him. He wrote a few stinkers, but these are all good.

Actually I've found - much to my surprise - that I enjoyed an anthology of his western short stories I was given (among them, a couple hat had also been made into films: most recently "3:10 to Yuma")...but each to his own, of course.

I've never read anything by him that I didn't at least like and many of them I loved.

[TexasRanger]

Iron on my mind by legendary bodybuilder Dave Draper. It's a collection of the email bulletins he sends out weekly. Very motivational and the beauty of reading it on the kindle means I can swap between whatever novel I am reading and get my motivational fix as and when required.