What Books Are People Reading Now ?

[BookMan]

I've just finished "Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea", ISBN 0-375-70337-3, by Gary Kinder. Maybe the best non-fiction book I've read this year. Basically, in 1857 the side wheel steamer Central America went down in a hurricane off the Carolina coast. More than 400 lives were lost, mostly passengers returning from the California gold fields.

She went down in 8,000 feet of water and was carrying - get this - 21 tons of gold. The book deals with the last few days of the ship and the frantic efforts of crew and passengers to save her, and then goes on to tell us about an engineer called Tommy Thompson who sets out to find the wreck and salvage its treasure. Most astonishing is the excitement of designing and building the equipment necessary to operate at 8,000 feet. Also amazing are his efforts to raise the money to carry out the salvage in various stages, whilst trying to deter other salvage operators from muscling in on the site.

I'm an engineer and have also been involved, in a small way, in wreck recovery and the retrieval of artifacts in The Philippines, but can only marvel at the effort and creative thinking that went into working at 8,000 feet. A thoroughly well recommended, entertaining and exciting read.

Again, it also raises the hoary old questions about the difference between treasure hunters and marine archaeologists - and I'm still not sure which camp I fall into.

Fascinating stuff.

Like all books of these sorts I like to start at the end. Do they get the Gold?

There was a case recently where a large amount of Chinese porcelain was recovered from some sunken junks. The first lot was sent to auction and did not receive the high prices that were expected/wanted.

The finder of the porcelain dumped a lot of it back into the sea to avoid the market becoming saturated with the product.

I think the guy also illegally shipped it to Australia where he stored it

[Rsquared]

That was my first thought also.......did they get the gold?

By the sounds of it, this sort of read would not be ruined by knowing the ending........but the journey to the end is the alluring part, and how the did it.

[richardjm65]

I agree, Rsquared, the story is not spoiled one bit by knowing that yes, they find and recover the gold, amid on-going legal arguments, insurance claims and so on which lasted several years.

And, Bookman, I wonder if the Chinese porcelain find you refer to would be from the Tek Sing, which sank in Feb 1822 in a South China Sea area called Belvedere Shoals. The cargo was auctioned in Germany (Stuttgart, I think), and the Indonesians were mightily distressed, as they considered the salvage to have taken place in their territorial waters. Many of the Tek Sing's crew and pax were rescued, but many died. More, in fact, than the number who died in the Titanic disaster years later.

Tek Sing ran about 1000 tons, was about 50 metres long and was a 3-masted junk carrying about 200 crew and 1600 passengers. The tallest of her three masts was 90 feet. She was greatly overloaded and in an attempt to take a bit of a short cut, hit the shoal. Mike Hatcher, (met him a time or two in S'pore), looked for and found the wreck and in May '99 started to effect the recovery.

It was said by some that part of the cargo of porcelain was smashed to make sure auction prices were kept high and, indeed, the porcelain sold at record prices. True or not, I cannot say, but once again it raises that archaeology/treasure question. Tek Sing was not difficult to salvage - she sank in about only about 100 feet of water, requiring no particularly innovative equipment. Scuba divers could reach her.

Sorry if I'm rambling, it's just that I'd give much to be at that stage of my life again.....

[DMC1]

'Ship of Gold' - yet another one added to my kindle wish list/queue !

Edited September 15, 2012 by DMC1

[BookMan]

I agree, Rsquared, the story is not spoiled one bit by knowing that yes, they find and recover the gold, amid on-going legal arguments, insurance claims and so on which lasted several years.

And, Bookman, I wonder if the Chinese porcelain find you refer to would be from the Tek Sing, which sank in Feb 1822 in a South China Sea area called Belvedere Shoals. The cargo was auctioned in Germany (Stuttgart, I think), and the Indonesians were mightily distressed, as they considered the salvage to have taken place in their territorial waters. Many of the Tek Sing's crew and pax were rescued, but many died. More, in fact, than the number who died in the Titanic disaster years later.

Tek Sing ran about 1000 tons, was about 50 metres long and was a 3-masted junk carrying about 200 crew and 1600 passengers. The tallest of her three masts was 90 feet. She was greatly overloaded and in an attempt to take a bit of a short cut, hit the shoal. Mike Hatcher, (met him a time or two in S'pore), looked for and found the wreck and in May '99 started to effect the recovery.

It was said by some that part of the cargo of porcelain was smashed to make sure auction prices were kept high and, indeed, the porcelain sold at record prices. True or not, I cannot say, but once again it raises that archaeology/treasure question. Tek Sing was not difficult to salvage - she sank in about only about 100 feet of water, requiring no particularly innovative equipment. Scuba divers could reach her.

Sorry if I'm rambling, it's just that I'd give much to be at that stage of my life again.....

It could well have been the Tek Sing richardJ.

There seems to be similarities to the story I remember and a quick google indicates it is possible.

I remember when I initially read the story it was fascinating, not only the discovery of hundreds of thousands of intact pieces of china, but the money expected and the machinations that were going on around the sale of the collection.

Sunken and buried treasures... Fascinating stuff!

[DrTuner]

Fear Artist, Hallinan. I really do enjoy the Poke Rafferty series, one of the few that get better with each book.

[cmbe]

Thai Visa Forum.

+1 and google translate .

[StreetCowboy]

Thai Visa Forum.

+1 and google translate .

Does google translate work on the posts here?

You can actually make sense of them?

SC

[cmbe]

Thai Visa Forum.

+1 and google translate .

Does google translate work on the posts here?

You can actually make sense of them?

SC

Not always work on the posts, but give me some idea and guide line when I need some more words, informations or directions to complete my book.

[BookMan]

Thai Visa Forum.

+1 and google translate .

Does google translate work on the posts here?

You can actually make sense of them?

SC

Not always work on the posts, but give me some idea and guide line when I need some more words, informations or directions to complete my book.

What's your book about cmbe?

[StreetCowboy]

Thai Visa Forum.

+1 and google translate .

Does google translate work on the posts here?

You can actually make sense of them?

SC

Not always work on the posts, but give me some idea and guide line when I need some more words, informations or directions to complete my book.

Will you be marking Google Translate down as a co-author?

I just bought a stack of books this evening; the one I'm looking forward to most - no, I'd better not say, as its a present for a family member....

And also a couple of Rudayard Kipling books, and some 19th century gothic novels.

I've just finished Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's "Heat and Dust", which was the most pleasant Indian-locale novel I've read for a while. Nice and short as well, for those of us with poor short-term memory

SC

[TommoPhysicist]

Clive Cussler - Fargo Series, number 4 recently released.

[phuturatica]

The last book I read was The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini

One of those books where I couldn't put it down and would take every opportunity to read it when I could. I watched the movie afterwards and whilst the movie was good, it didn't do the book justice.

Edited September 16, 2012 by phuturatica

[cmbe]

re: What's your book about cmbe?

Just joking, I compare posts from all members like a book that I would like to read (that is a way to know more mentality of people in varies by nationality in Thailand) , not always understand what I read, and didn't read all topics (so many) buy I keep reading and enjoy it.

[BookMan]

The last book I read was The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini

One of those books where I couldn't put it down and would take every opportunity to read it when I could. I watched the movie afterwards and whilst the movie was good, it didn't do the book justice.

I enjoyed the movie but I am not sure if I have read the book. I would have to start reading it again (if i have read it) to remember.

Sometimes it is hard to read the book once you have seen the movie...yet for some reason I have no problem watching the movie once I have read the book.

Thank heavens I read Cormac McCarthy's The Road before i saw the movie. The movie really was quite good and quite true to the book, but the images from reading that book stayed with me for months afterwards. If i had seen the movie first I might have missed out on a masterpiece of writing.

[StreetCowboy]

The last book I read was The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini

One of those books where I couldn't put it down and would take every opportunity to read it when I could. I watched the movie afterwards and whilst the movie was good, it didn't do the book justice.

I enjoyed the movie but I am not sure if I have read the book. I would have to start reading it again (if i have read it) to remember.

Sometimes it is hard to read the book once you have seen the movie...yet for some reason I have no problem watching the movie once I have read the book.

Thank heavens I read Cormac McCarthy's The Road before i saw the movie. The movie really was quite good and quite true to the book, but the images from reading that book stayed with me for months afterwards. If i had seen the movie first I might have missed out on a masterpiece of writing.

I found The Road quite hard to read, due to its depressing subject matter, talking about it with friends, they assumed that following the ending the worst would happen, while I assumed the best.

SC

[BookMan]

Clive Cussler - Fargo Series, number 4 recently released.

It is not hard to see why Clive Cussler is so popular. I have read some of his Dirk Pitt Series and also some of the NUMA series I also read Plague ship

His writing tends to hook you in very quickly, which I enjoy.

Cussler, being a marine archaeologist and having discovered shipwrecks himself adds a certain realism to his writings.

I notice he has been co authoring some of his series for a while. Even with the co authoring he must have an enormous work ethic to output the volume of writing he does and also pursue his marine archaeology.

The entire co authoring of books makes me wonder how much the original author actually writes.

James Patterson is an example. He has franchised out his 'brand' to numerous co-authorings, so many that is nigh impossible to keep track of what is what. I would think that he has does almost none of the writing for some of his co authored series

[BookMan]

The last book I read was The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini

One of those books where I couldn't put it down and would take every opportunity to read it when I could. I watched the movie afterwards and whilst the movie was good, it didn't do the book justice.

I enjoyed the movie but I am not sure if I have read the book. I would have to start reading it again (if i have read it) to remember.

Sometimes it is hard to read the book once you have seen the movie...yet for some reason I have no problem watching the movie once I have read the book.

Thank heavens I read Cormac McCarthy's The Road before i saw the movie. The movie really was quite good and quite true to the book, but the images from reading that book stayed with me for months afterwards. If i had seen the movie first I might have missed out on a masterpiece of writing.

I found The Road quite hard to read, due to its depressing subject matter, talking about it with friends, they assumed that following the ending the worst would happen, while I assumed the best.

SC

I can't say I thought there was going to be any future happy outcomes at the end of the book so I guess I also assumed the worst. There is a glimmer of hope in your mind, but the rest of the book is so bleak and dark. The scenes and images gnaw away at you.

Perhaps it is a truer portrayal of events as they could happen than what we normally come across. Certainly most people like to feel there is hope in any situation, that is fundamentally what keeps us going through the worst life can offer.

You don't find a lot of hope within those pages.

[lovelaos]

recently i read a great book called The Ravens. by Chistopher Robbins.

its about the secret war in Laos.

amazing stuff.

after i finished the book i drove my car into Laos to visit many of the places in the book.

I read that book and did the same as you. Another good read is Tragic Mountains by Dr Jane Hamilton-Merritt.

I am not allowed to mention the book I am reading at the moment very interesting read though, and an insight into Thailand 's possible future.

[CNF55]

Fear Artist, Hallinan. I really do enjoy the Poke Rafferty series, one of the few that get better with each book.

+ 1 for Hallinan

I found 'Breathing Water' as a free digital copy and then went on to buy all Poke Rafferty books from Amazon.

In the same league if not better than Burdett.

[BookMan]

Fear Artist, Hallinan. I really do enjoy the Poke Rafferty series, one of the few that get better with each book.

+ 1 for Hallinan

I found 'Breathing Water' as a free digital copy and then went on to buy all Poke Rafferty books from Amazon.

In the same league if not better than Burdett.

I wasn't aware of this aware of this author so i did a google on him.

Looks interesting and Ill be keeping an eye out for them.

[CNF55]

Fear Artist, Hallinan. I really do enjoy the Poke Rafferty series, one of the few that get better with each book.

+ 1 for Hallinan

I found 'Breathing Water' as a free digital copy and then went on to buy all Poke Rafferty books from Amazon.

In the same league if not better than Burdett.

I wasn't aware of this aware of this author so i did a google on him.

Looks interesting and Ill be keeping an eye out for them.

Same here - found him by chance when doing a search on gnooks.com.

[BookMan]

Fear Artist, Hallinan. I really do enjoy the Poke Rafferty series, one of the few that get better with each book.

+ 1 for Hallinan

I found 'Breathing Water' as a free digital copy and then went on to buy all Poke Rafferty books from Amazon.

In the same league if not better than Burdett.

I wasn't aware of this aware of this author so i did a google on him.

Looks interesting and Ill be keeping an eye out for them.

Same here - found him by chance when doing a search on gnooks.com.

On his website, Hallinan writes about how to complete the book you are writing, based on his experience. It is good solid advice and worth a read for any aspiring writers.

http://www.timothyhallinan.com/writers.php

[Ron19]

[kevjohn]

Take the Kindle, Nook and Sony Reader out and that is what my bookshelf is like.....

[Ulysses G.]

Thank heavens I read Cormac McCarthy's The Road before i saw the movie. The movie really was quite good and quite true to the book, but the images from reading that book stayed with me for months afterwards. If i had seen the movie first I might have missed out on a masterpiece of writing.

In the past, I did not enjoy Cormac McCarthy's writing style, but I loved The Road and No Country for Old Men and I loved both movies. He has toned down the endless, flowery descriptions and IMO much improved his writing.

[BookMan]

Thank heavens I read Cormac McCarthy's The Road before i saw the movie. The movie really was quite good and quite true to the book, but the images from reading that book stayed with me for months afterwards. If i had seen the movie first I might have missed out on a masterpiece of writing.

In the past, I did not enjoy Cormac McCarthy's writing style, but I loved The Road and No Country for Old Men and I loved both movies. He has toned down the endless, flowery descriptions and IMO much improved his writing.

The Crossing? All the Pretty Horses?

I watched No Country For Old men before reading the book (from memory) and i loved both. The movie certainly did not have the happy endings that you normally associate with Hollywood productions, so maybe it was that which led me to read the book. Either way, another movie/book that stays with you

What I also find intriguing about McCarthy is the time gap between his novels.

Extreme writers block perhaps?

[TommoPhysicist]

I notice he has been co authoring some of his series for a while. Even with the co authoring he must have an enormous work ethic to output the volume of writing he does and also pursue his marine archaeology.

The entire co authoring of books makes me wonder how much the original author actually writes.

I don't believe Cussler writes anything these days, just putting his name on a franchise.

Maybe it would be more accurate to title them 'Books written in the style of Clive Cussler'

The books he really wrote (three years ago and earlier) where much better than the current ones.

Edited September 20, 2012 by TommoPhysicist

[cdnvic]

Jaina Proudmoore - Tides of War (Yeah, I'm a nerd)

[ianwuk]

I just started 'Cloud Atlas' as I want to read the book before going to see the film.