what book are you reading

[ewe2]

The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins. Does for atheism what Aquinas did for Catholic theology, only much much better and without the crap logic. Am refusing to read fiction until Gaiman, Stephenson, or Fforde write something new. (Have read Anansi Boys, is awesome as usual. Have read all the good Gibson).

[BlueBoy]

Gaiman has just released another book of short stories. Fucked if I know what it's called though.

[gunsella]

i just finished jPod by douglas coupland. excellent.
last week - the bedroom secrets of the master chefs - irvine welsh.

[Spades]

Marian Keyes - all her books!!! they are absolutely laugh at loud funny

[Thyrd]

Dark Tower: The Gunslinger by Steven King

[ACEwoK]

Night of the Fox by Jack Higgins

[annie]

Alien Omnibus - Alien, Aliens and Aliens 3

Yay for Alien!

[Ic3]

Paul B. Kidd - Never To Be Released

[Serpent_Girl]

The Dark Tower II - Drawing of the Three - Stephen King & Terry Pratchett - Lords and Ladies.

soon to read after I finish Pratchett - Suskinds Perfume & the rest of The Dark Tower books :)

I tend to read more than one book at once, often because I temporarily leave them in places I forget about.

[Buffy]

About to finish Perfume by Patrick Süskind (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfume_(novel)). It's different although I'm not quite sure whether I like it or not yet.

[Lina]

Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution by Amory Lovins, Paul Hawken and L. Hunter Lovins

[and3w]

Noir by K. W. Jeter

[Enos]

Musashi - Eiji Yoshikawa

[Icky]

The Wizard Knight - Gene Wolfe

Its an interesting First person narrative, the protagonist of the novel is writing a letter to his brother. Its an interesting concept for a fantasy novel

[and3w]

Not so much what I am reading now (I have read it several times, when younger);more something you might like to read:
Don Quixote: http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/c/cervantes/c41d/

Enjoy, it's a funny, ironic and still relevant book.

[Whiskers]

Vanity Fair.

<3 Becky Sharp

[sagit]

Temple by Matthew Reilly

[Glompbot]

A Feast for Crows
by George R R Martin

[Something Fast]

Atlas Shrugged.

I'm not really liking it so far, but I'm determined to read it.

[Icky]

Im reading the Fourth (last) Otori Novel by Lian Hearn. So far it is living up to my expectations. Its a really good series

[Buffy]

Intervention by Julian May, again.

[Grizzlee]

Temple by Matthew Reilly

Hmm I have just started reading Contest on the advice of my boss.
So far so good.

[Mr. Bungle]

desperately trying to finish the 4th Otherland book.... it needs to wind down soon!

[SOC]

Temple by Matthew Reilly

I've read almost all Reilly's books as well, except the latest (the title of which currently escapes me). I quite like his style, but find his novels slightly overwritten - they could all do with some tighter editing and trimming.

I recently read Darkly Dreaming Dexter, and am now reading Dearly Devoted Dexter, both by Jeff Lindsay (http://www.randomhouse.com/doubleday/dexter/index.html). Yes, they are the books the brilliant Showtime TV series was based on. I'm now looking forward to the next one - Dexter In The Dark, coming out this September.

[BlueBoy]

I've read almost all Reilly's books as well, except the latest (the title of which currently escapes me). I quite like his style, but find his novels slightly overwritten - they could all do with some tighter editing and trimming.

Ughhh. His stuff reads like a Michael Bay script.
Page 23: SHIT BLOWS UP.

Picked up a copy of Company by Max Barry today. Can't wait to get into it.

[Glompbot]

Mort by Terry Pratchett

[Aardvark]

A Fall of Moondust, by Arthur C. Clark

At first I thought that a fiction novel based on the moon, written before the moon landing, would be rather silly, but as this is from something that is definitely not a first edition, he includes a little forward, apologising for the apollo missions proving his theories incorrect.

[Velvet Douche]

I am reading the last book in the Dark Twoer series.


rock'it!

[Lina]

The Matisse Illustrated book of lyrics to 'Dance me to the end of love', which is not really reading per se, although some reading is obviously involved, but more admiring. Goddamn I love that song.

Matisse + Cohen = friggin' awesome.

[Thyrd]

I've now finished The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger.
Now I'm reading The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three.
Also buying and reading The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born mini-series.

[sagit]

Having another go at The 3rd Morse Omnibus

[Serpent_Girl]

Recently(ish - few weeks or so) finished the last Dark Tower book and the Dark Elf Trilogy.

Reading atm the rest of the Cleric Quintet (stopped and came back to it now) as well as a book called Sebastian by Anne Bishop - Landscapes of Ephemera book one.

oh and the dark elf trilogy and cleric quintet are by R A. Salvatore

[Xythan]

I am reading the last book in the Dark Twoer series.


rock'it!

I've now finished The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger.
Now I'm reading The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three.
Also buying and reading The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born mini-series.

Recently(ish - few weeks or so) finished the last Dark Tower book and the Dark Elf Trilogy.

Reading atm the rest of the Cleric Quintet (stopped and came back to it now) as well as a book called Sebastian by Anne Bishop - Landscapes of Ephemera book one.

oh and the dark elf trilogy and cleric quintet are by R A. Salvatore

I only have one thing to say...you'll understand soon enough...Serpent Girl does.

"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."

Muhuhuhuha!!!

[Mr. Bungle]

To Reign in Hell by Steven Brust.

I should be finishing it tonight though. I had also just read Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson which was a fun, if slightly inaccurate, look at the English language.

[hymartin]

Downloaded the book The Devil Wears Prada...I have seen the film though not to the end...Think I will start reading the book:D

Do you guys take notes when reading a book?

[astro]

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M Pirsig. My brother's been on at me for years to read it, and I finally got around to tracking a copy down. Very interesting.

[STallingU]

Going Postal By Terry Pratchett

[toobs18]

picking girls for dummies

[skylar]

Catfish and Mandala, by Andrew X Pham. A photocopy of a book I picked up for the equivalent of $2 in Saigon earlier this year. Bargain, although if I'd seen it for sale in Australia I would have paid the full price as it's worth every dong.

[Glompbot]

Going Postal By Terry Pratchett

good book that

[BtrFly]

The Prosperous Thief by Andrea Goldsmith. Its really quite good - about holocaust survivors and how one guy was a german who faked being jew to get out of germany.

Well written :)

[BlueBoy]

I'm reading American God again.

[Colonel Kurtz]

Robots & Empire - Isaac Asimov

[mr_russy]

I've just started Fight Club.

[annie]

Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

[TheMightyPhill]

The Ice Man - Philip Carlo

Poorly written but very disturbing. True life about a guy who had killed 65 people by the time he was 26. Mafia hitman and all round psychopath. Interesting.

[kiki]

Not reading this yet its on oder...I heard it was great....I so hate waiting!!!!!!!!

Then We Came to the End: A Novel by Joshua Ferris...

[pleed]

Terry Pratchett - Interesting Times.

[and3w]

Beating Anger by Phillip James and Dark Light by Ken McLeod (who writes brilliant left-wing sci-fi)

[Serpent_Girl]

Reading Battleaxe, The Axis Trilogy book one, by Sara Douglass.

Great series + the series after (gets better each book!) and also by an Aussie author. Much win. :)

[satori]

God's Terrorists - The Wahhabi Cult and the Hidden Roots of Modern Jihad

Charles Allen.

Both in Arabia and India the Wahhabis were brought to the verge of extinction many times, only to regroup. Then in the early 1980s a combination of events allowed these strands to converge and cross-infect. Two very different orginisations emerged, one tight-knit and localised, the other loose-knit and with global aspirations: The Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

The complicated but highly interesting story of modern Islamic fundamentalism.

[BlueBoy]

Rant by Chuck Palahniuk.
It's...interesting. I'll give it that.

[Aardvark]

Reading Battleaxe, The Axis Trilogy book one, by Sara Douglass.

Great series + the series after (gets better each book!) and also by an Aussie author. Much win. :)

I'm reading Sinner, by the same talentless hack.

Weak, predictable, character-driven tripe. All the male characters seem built off the same bastard influence, all the female characters are sex-obsessed. If you cut out every instance of the word "Star", the book would be half the length it is now.

I've gotta stop reading books I find on random escapades

[rayjayjohnson]

the red horseman by stephen coonts.

and it's not very good.

[astro]

The Heart of a Goof - P.G. Wodehouse

[Colonel Kurtz]

Three at the moment

Douglas Adams - Hitchhikers guid to the galaxy - a trilogy in five parts

Ian Smith - Bitter Harvest: The Great Betrayal

J.K Money Bags - Harry Potter and the deathly hallows

[Serpent_Girl]

I finished reading harry potter 7 a while ago and now have nothing to read... except uni work, but that doesn't count.

[JumpinJez]

I found a torrent to 4 gig of ebooks a while ago. Finally had a look and and catching up on some classic SF.
Asimov's Foundation series
Piers Antony's Blue adept and Bio of a space tyrant series

[Sutter]

I found a torrent to 4 gig of ebooks a while ago. Finally had a look and and catching up on some classic SF.
Asimov's Foundation series
Piers Antony's Blue adept and Bio of a space tyrant series

Torrent link, buster?

Or even spliting it up into your favs and linking that?

[Colonel Kurtz]

I think I have already downloaded this. I can bunr it to a disk and mail it to you when iget back mang

[Ic3]

Just starting Harry Potter 7, well actually, at page 342...

[lowededwookie]

I've got a book that contains 6 George Orwell novells. I've read Nineteen Eighty Four and loved it.

Now I'm reading "Keep the Aspidistras Flying" which is a pretty cool if slow moving story.

Not sure which one I'll read after that.

[RedMaN]

Bit of free time so I'm working through a few different books-

Joe Buff - Tidal Rip (thanks rayjay)
Neal Stephenson - Quicksilver
Baudrillard - Simulacra and Simulation

[Colonel Kurtz]

[quote=RedMaN;1203292]Bit of free time so I'm working through a few different books-

Neal Stephenson - Quicksilver

Shit, when did that come out?

[RedMaN]

Judging the Amazon listing (http://www.amazon.com/Quicksilver-Baroque-Cycle-Vol-1/dp/0060593083/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-5672565-3734346?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186121651&sr=1-1), it was first published in 2004.

I remember reading it ages ago but I picked it up this week as a refresher.

[Sutter]

I think I have already downloaded this. I can bunr it to a disk and mail it to you when iget back mang

Very nice of you sir, but I was thinking of the other peeps too. You can't burn a disk for everyone ;)

[Colonel Kurtz]

Thanks man, never saw that one, have to add to my collection!

[hymartin]

currently reading The Plague again!

[Jimma]

Albert Camus? Good book, but so dry. You may hate to hear it, but I read the Harry Potter series last week and noticed some similar themes come up in HP as do in the Plague. The various reactions people have to a crisis situation etc.

[hymartin]

Albert Camus? Good book, but so dry. You may hate to hear it, but I read the Harry Potter series last week and noticed some similar themes come up in HP as do in the Plague. The various reactions people have to a crisis situation etc.
Yeah! A bit dry! Lol
I dont really like the harry potter book, somehow they just made me sleepy...i mean the movies...:S

[Girl.]

Just finished re-reading Peter Carey's "The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith" after picking up "Thus Spake Zarathustra" and realising I didn't care about it enough to get past the second chapter.

[Canalien]

Ulysses
The Castle of Otranto
Bush Studies

hoorya for three lit. subjects at uni!
i now have no free time ever!

[Sparhawk]

Ulysses? By Joyce? Hahahaha.

I'm looking for a new book to read, I've just finished reading all the Malazan books...they were sweet. Maybe time for ASoIaF again...

[Spades]

Catch 22 - and it is not as absurd as my workplace :(

[and3w]

Albert Camus? Good book, but so dry.

Agreed, apart from the Outsider, which I found a lot better...

Me? Just finished Jon Courtney Grimwood's 'Stamping Butterflies' (great, like most of his stuff HERE (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stamping-Butterflies-Gollancz-Courtenay-Grimwood/dp/057507650X/ref=sr_1_5/026-5328476-5590026?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186475740&sr=1-5)

Now reading The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder by Don Wolfe HERE (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Dahlia-Files-Mogul-Murder/dp/0316727261/ref=sr_1_5/026-5328476-5590026?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186475876&sr=1-5), looking good so far
Also Kiki's letters, which always cheer me up :nod: :hail: :nod:

[Glompbot]

Terry Pratchett
Carpe Jugulum

[lowededwookie]

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M Pirsig. My brother's been on at me for years to read it, and I finally got around to tracking a copy down. Very interesting.Wasn't that book actually written by Burt Munro - of World's Fastest Indian fame?

[Mr. Bungle]

ive been lax in posting here. I have been reading the entire Vlad Taltos series by Steven Brust (The Book of Jhereg et al.). Really awesome and funny fantasyesque books which I highly recommend.

[Aardvark]

Nothing at the moment
Finally finished that turd in a softcover and would've burnt it, but it did have two things I do enjoy in a piece of literature

An earthshattering kaboom and an abortion fight.

Not enough books involve disagreements sorted out by way of dead foetus.

[rayjayjohnson]

emergency deep by michael dimercurio, i'm fast running out of submarine authors...

listening to 'darkly dreaming dexter' cause i couldn't find a copy in any bookshop around here, so audiobook it is. soooooo lazy

[banga]

currently re reading SHOGUN by james clavell

[Mr. Bungle]

A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge. I bought this book a few years ago, but never got around to reading it. It won the Hugo so I am assuming it is good :)

[d3kst3r]

The Game - Neil Strauss
The Godfather - Mario Puzo
Rant - Chuck Palahniuk

Thus ends the month of August unless I can fit one more in before the week is up.

[lowededwookie]

I just finished George Orwell's "Keep The Aspidistra Flying" which was an awesome read about the insidous nature of money and it's grasp on the world. It's odd to read a book that mirrors one's belief so exact.

I'm now reading his novel "Coming Up For Air". All these stories are part of a compendium book I bought off Trade Me. I only wanted the book for Nineteen Eighty Four so got a pretty good deal. I'm basically reading the book back to front so I will end up finishing the book by reading "Animal Farm".

I can't believe that I've taken so long to read George Orwell. The guy's a legend and well before his time.

[MisterBishi]

Simon Singh's The Code Book. Excellent read on the history of cryptography and cryptanalysis.

[Enos]

Black Man - Richard Morgan

[Gargamel]

Black Man - Richard Morgan


I'd forgotten that was out. I need to procure it.

[BlueBoy]

I hope it's better than his last one. I really do.

[and3w]

Re-reading all my James Lee Burke books, am on 'in the electric mist with confederate dead' atm.
The guy is a certified american genius.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lee_Burke

[FairyBoots]

Recently bought The Serpent Bride by Sara Douglass, so after reading that, I've been going mad reading all her previous stuff. So good! :D

[Icky]

Im reading a fiction book called "the brotherhood fo pirates"
It was written by a historian so it includes a lot of kool facts.

[and3w]

'Lost Cosmonaut' by Daniel Kalder ( HERE (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Cosmonaut-Daniel-Kalder/dp/0571227805/ref=sr_1_1/202-4117216-5341458?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188290766&sr=1-1)

""Lost Cosmonaut" documents Daniel Kalder's travels in the bizarre and mysterious worlds of Russia's ethnic republics. Obsessed with a quest he never fully understands, Kalder boldly goes where no man has gone before: in the deserts of Kalmykia, he stumbles upon a city dedicated to chess and a forgotten tribe of Mongols; in Mari El, home to Europe's last pagan nation, he meets the Chief Druid and participates in an ancient rite; while in the bleak industrial badlands of Udmurtia, Kalder looks for Mikhail Kalashnikov, inventor of the AK-47, and accidentally becomes a TV star. Profane yet wise, utterly honest and yet full of lies, "Lost Cosmonaut" is an eye-opening, blackly comic tour of the most alien planet in our cosmos: Earth"

All of the above is true, tis a damn fine book.

[sagit]

i should really finish the inspector morse book, so i can start on dale brown.

[ShinymetalASS]

The Wastelands (Gunslinger III)

.... hello thread

[Artful-dodgeR]

Wizard of Earthsea Trilogy - Ursula Le Guin

[royale]

http://www.mup.unimelb.edu.au/covers/0-522-85016-2.jpg (http://www.mup.unimelb.edu.au/catalogue/0-522-85016-2.html)

[carrion]

The Gunslinger (Dark Tower Vol. 1)

[pliskin]

spook country - William gibson.

[ms edeity]

spook country - William gibson.
that was the book i bought for ed's dad day pressie...i'm waiting till he's done with it. :D

[Icky]

Ozonomics - Inside the myth of Australia's economic superheroes, By Andrew Charlton.

This book is supported by members of The Chaser as it basically uses a lot of comedy to attack the credibility of Howard and Costello claiming credit for Australia's Economic Boom

[rayjayjohnson]

world war z by max brooks

[annie]

1984 by George Orwell.. All this talk about him made me decide to read it, and holy crap am I glad that I did.

[gunsella]

the devil in amber - mark gatiss.

[Icky]

1984 by George Orwell.. All this talk about him made me decide to read it, and holy crap am I glad that I did.

I prefer Animal Farm

[annie]

Well I've bought the complete novels (lowededwookie gave me the idea) so I'll read that too.

[Glompbot]

Thud!

[-=[BB]=-]

I'm currently reading "The Neutronium Alchemist" by Peter F Hamilton, its book 2 in a 3600 page (approx) trilogy.

I love Sci Fi :D

[annie]

Currently reading Douglas Adams 'Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency', which is in the same book as ‘The long dark tea-time of the soul”

In the past 6 days it seems I've read:
Animal Farm (George Orwell) – very well written.
A Clergyman’s Daughter (George Orwell) a little different, but still enjoyable
War of the worlds (H.G Wells) slightly difficult to read, but I’m glad I did, I also enjoyed this a lot.

[stinky]

=-;1218812']I'm currently reading "The Neutronium Alchemist" by Peter F Hamilton, its book 2 in a 3600 page (approx) trilogy.

I love Sci Fi :D

Ohhhhh yeah ... Read all his books ... Insanely good!

[and3w]

'Weapons of Choice: World War 2.1' by John Birmingham
Very very good, I look forward to the other 2 books...


"
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Lucid, well-researched and riveting., 8 Aug 2007
By Glenn Tinsley "Addison70" (Nottingham, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
God knows, I wouldn't like to tackle a subject as diverse as a near-future naval battlefleet transported back to World-War Two, with the social, psychological, and cultural complexities to contend with. It would take a special kind of writer to make it believable and keep the pace flowing. Fortunately, John Birmingham is equal to the task, throwing himself into it with enough gusto and panache (with tongue just slightly in cheek - this is sci-fi after all) to keep the reader turning the pages.
Birmingham writes technologically advanced warfare better than Clancy but the social interaction between the culturally diverse characters are what really makes this book fascinating (witness Admiral Kolhammer's twenty-first century diplomatic sensiblities contrasting with Admiral King's twentieth century bluster), all the while considering the unwinding global impact of such a technologically and culturally dissimilar group's sudden arrival into a comparatively primitive society.
The scale of the topic is such that the story lacks a little depth and humanity but sacrifices have to be made somewhere or the book would begin to lose it's pace.
In short, this is as good as it gets. Settle back, suspend your disbelief and enjoy. "
From Amazon ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/Weapons-Choice-World-Axis-Trilogy/dp/0141029110/ref=sr_1_1/026-6506693-4150024?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189500918&sr=1-1 )

[-=[BB]=-]

Ohhhhh yeah ... Read all his books ... Insanely good!

Yeah I have about 7 of them so far, I started with Fallen Dragon which I picked up for 20c from a library sale, couldnt put it down :D

[Glompbot]

Currently reading Douglas Adams 'Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency', which is in the same book as ‘The long dark tea-time of the soul”

Personally I think those two books are better than the hitch hikers ones.

[kiki]

Perfume...Patrick Suskind

[bronco]

Thomas Harris - Hannibal Rising

It's best not to compare it to the "real" Hannibal triology, but it's OK.

[bronco]

1984 by George Orwell.. All this talk about him made me decide to read it, and holy crap am I glad that I did.

That has to be one of my favourite books. That man was a genious.

[and3w]

Spook Country - William Gibson.

[ms edeity]

Spook Country - William Gibson.
are you liking it? i'm not so fussed.
i've started on 'the great war for civilisation. the conquest for the middle east' - robert fisk; because, sadly, gibson was shitting me a little.

[and3w]

are you liking it? i'm not so fussed.
i've started on 'the great war for civilisation. the conquest for the middle east' - robert fisk; because, sadly, gibson was shitting me a little.

I am enjoying it, but then I have only read about 10 chapters; again, I really liked 'pattern recognition' - I think it is no longer 'sci-fi' or whatever you want to call it- it is examining the uses to which technology of this time can/is being put, and the dramatic ideas which can come from it...
I'll let you know what I think when I have finished it...:light:

[and3w]

are you liking it? i'm not so fussed.
i've started on 'the great war for civilisation. the conquest for the middle east' - robert fisk; because, sadly, gibson was shitting me a little.

OK, I finished it and I loved it....I loved the whole idea of going to such great lengths to fuck up others, I loved the tradecraft/santeria angle, I loved the idea of 'locative art'...and, as always I think he is a stylistic genius!

So, I guess you could say it was OK.:nod:

[Mr. Bungle]

re-reading Clive Barker's Imajica again

[ChodeMaster]

'Dragon Master' by Chris Bunch.

It's the omnibus edition of the Dragon Master trilogy.

[~vjay~]

I finally started reading Lord of the Rings this week. I haven't seen the movie.

[Enos]

For Whom The Bell Tolls - Hemingway

[Lina]

The Celestine Prophecy, although in my current rather hungover state it's not really gelling. Methinks I should put the book down and sleep some more. Yep.

[stinky]

I'm reading the new Peter Hamilton book The Dreaming Void.

Is good :D

[ShinymetalASS]

Just finished Kate Forsyth's 3'rd book in the Rhiannon's Ride Series (the follow on from her first)

Now about to continue with my Dark Tower series.

[BlueBoy]

Dad gave me Michael Crichton's Next to read.
Should I read it or burn it?

[pliskin]

the electric church- jeff somers.

decent enough

[~vjay~]

I finally started reading Lord of the Rings this week. I haven't seen the movie.

I've nearly finished this one now.......Hope I can find time to read the other 2 since school goes back shortly, eek.

[Glompbot]

I bought Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett

[rayjayjohnson]

just finished world war z by max brooks.

best book i've ever read.

fun, clever, well researched. it's got everything for an exciting read.

[BlueBoy]

Soon I will be Invincible - Austin Grossman.

Pretty awesome so far.

[ms edeity]

tomorrow i pick up my copy of I am America and so can you - Stephen Colbert.

i lolled that he released an audio version first.

[Mr. Bungle]

tomorrow i pick up my copy of I am America and so can you - Stephen Colbert.

i lolled that he released an audio version first.

i miss all the good books being in :germany:

[4X4]

well im reading the Kite Runner for this book report due in 4th november.

Not far from finishing.

Quite a success...



I am not usually much of a reader...

[Dundasbro]

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

[locust]

Slash's autobiography. It's hardcore, in that by page 60 I had a papercut.

[BlueBoy]

High Fidelity - Nick Hornby.
Might just be the best thing I've read this year.

[Enos]

Glasshouse - Charles Stross

[Serpent_Girl]

Val McDermid - The Last Temptation.

[Girl.]

Just finished Voltaire's "Candide" and am about to start "Shakespeare's Wife" by Germaine Greer.

[and3w]

Just finished re-reading Slant by Greg Bear

Now reading Black Man by Richard Morgan. It's not a Takeshi Kovacs book but it is still bloody good, loads of great ideas.

[BlueBoy]

Canticle for Leibowitz - Walter M. Miller Jr.

[MyPetMonkey]

Catch 22

[Aardvark]

Picked up Eon and Anvil of Stars, by Greg Bear, yesterday

Started Eon today, need to find Hammer of the Gods before I finish this

[Hit And Rum]

The Draka Domination - Stephen M Stirling

[Colonel Kurtz]

Monash: The Outsider who won the war - Roland Perry

Greta book about General Sir John Monash, kindly leant to me by Royale

[astro]

Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell

[Mr. Bungle]

Banewreaker by Jacqueline Carey

[Girl.]

Milan Kundera - Immortality

[dwarfthrower]

Richard Dawkins - The Ancestor's Tale

[gunsella]

peter carey - bliss

[Something Fast]

The Zombie Survival Guide

[Girl.]

peter carey - bliss

Love that book.

Have just finished Vita Sackville West's biography of Joan of Arc and am now reading a book on the Spanish Inquisition (which is not as interesting as I thought it'd be) and after that will start Norman Mailer's The Castle in the Forest.

[Enos]

Pushing Ice - Alastair Reynolds

[annie]

Canticle for Leibowitz - Walter M. Miller Jr.

I read that in highschool at the encouragement of my english teacher - very good.

[Aardvark]

Making Money - Terry Pratchett

Mr Von Lipwig could well be my favourite discworld character thus far... except for Death

[sportbilly]

Grave Peril - The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher

3001: The Final Odyssey - Arthur C Clarke

[annie]

Grave Peril - The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher

3001: The Final Odyssey - Arthur C Clarke

I'm currently reading Death Masks from the Dresden Files (by Jim Butcher). Good series, the equivalent of a popcorn movie.

[BtrFly]

i am re-reading hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. dad gave it to me for christmas. <3

[MisterBishi]

I got a few good books for Christmas. History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell should last me a week or three.

[and3w]

The Testament of Gideon Mack by James Robertson. So far, very good

[Hired Goon]

One Soldier's War in Chechnya - Arkady Babchenko.

very bleak.

[sportbilly]

I'm currently reading Death Masks from the Dresden Files (by Jim Butcher). Good series, the equivalent of a popcorn movie.
I just started Death Masks last night, you're spot on about the popcorn novel. Sometimes a bit of light entertainment is necessary and Butcher gives Dresden a fantastic sense of humour.

[galindo]

Just finished the Trial of Adolf Eichmann.

Bought 5 books and started 3 of them:
-Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared M. Diamond
-The Graves Are Not Yet Full by Bill Berkeley
-What is the What by David Eggers

For some reason I cannot escape non-fiction lately.... i need to probably go back and read the Dragonlance series again to balance me out.

[Girl.]

The Kite Runner. Awful writing and annoyingly sentimental.

Next will either be re-reading War and Peace or one of my new Geoffrey Blainey books.

[ms edeity]

i just finished 'love my rifle more than you' and half of 'i, woz'....both incredibly awful books. it was painful to finish the first book and i cbf dragging my way through the second. i'll be making a trip to borders tomorrow.

[_m_]

"The Quest" by Wilbur Smith


don't judge me !

[Glompbot]

A hat full of sky - terry pratchett

[wenches.inc]

"The Quest" by Wilbur Smith


don't judge me !

I liked it!

[RedMaN]

The Six Sacred Stones - Matthew Reilly

[lizardking]

Blink - M Gladwell

[MyPetMonkey]

After reading "Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs: (She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse) - Paul Carter" in the latter part of last year i moved onto the latest one...

This is Not a Drill: Just Another Glorious Day in the Oilfield - Paul Carter

These are THE funniest things I have read in ages.

[Gargamel]

After reading "Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs: (She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse) - Paul Carter" in the latter part of last year i moved onto the latest one...

This is Not a Drill: Just Another Glorious Day in the Oilfield - Paul Carter

These are THE funniest things I have read in ages.

Yeah, I picked them both up in airports and enjoyed them.

I'm now reading Douglas Copeland - All Families Are Psychotic

[gimpieman]

God is not great - Christopher Hitchens

[Glompbot]

The cooks companion.
ZOMG.

[KingAragorn]

Kokoda by Paul ham
recounts the Australian and Japanese perspectives of the Kokada track campaign

[stinky]

You've been warned (http://www.booksamillion.com/ncom/books?id=3923934624999&pid=0316014508) by James Patterson ( and some other guy ).

James patterson's awesome style, with somebody elses wacky story line. Quite different to the usual Patterson, but still a good read.

[Serpent_Girl]

The Immortal Prince by Jennifer Fallon

I'm actually liking it so far. :)

[Stryker]

Straight Silver by Dan Abnett

[Aardvark]

Wintersmith.

Yeah, it's a kid's book. So foadiaf

[Jul1an]

Terry Brooks - Sword of Shanara

[BtrFly]

i read something by lincoln preston recently (cant remember the name), and it was like Jeffery Deaver used to be, exciting, and well paced, like his paraplegic books.

i read Love and punishment by Wendy Harmer (quite inciteful, if a little bit of fluff), and i just started The 50/50 killer by steve mosby. not bad so far.

[Mr. Bungle]

Spin by Robert Charles Wilson. Won the Hugo in 2005 I think. Pretty fkn ace so far.

[MyPetMonkey]

Yeah, I picked them both up in airports and enjoyed them.


HA! That's where I picked up the first one.... I had almost read half of it before boarding.

I was sitting hung-over and giggling at the departure lounge...

[and3w]

King Nicholas and the Copeman Empire: A Tale of Boredom, Lies, and Empire Building (http://www.amazon.com/King-Nicholas-Copeman-Empire-Building/dp/0091899206/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201350203&sr=1-5)

One of the funniest books I have read for a very long time.

Blurb:

Twenty-five-year-old Nick Copeman's accomplishments were few and decidedly unimpressive before he became King. Unemployed and still living with his parents in the coastal town of Sheringham, Nick spent his days watching schlock TV--Zena: Warrior Princess, Battlestar Galactica--and playing Connect Four or grabbing meals with his friend John Painter at Roy Boy's Truck Stop. But all that changed when Nick and John paid £29 apiece to legally change their names to, respectively, Henry Michael King Nicholas and The Right Reverand [sic] Baby Face Archbishop of Fantaberry. Having thus become royal, HM King Nicholas determined to look and act the part. He details in King Nicholas and the Copeman Empire how he and Baby Face set about acquiring the trappings of their new stations--the crown, the vestments, the stationery and trailer-turned-royal residence--and the various adventures the two had after adopting their new personae. Most dramatic among these was the pair's successful infiltration of the Pride of Norfolk Awards, an annual black-tie event held in the Ramada Norwich Hotel, at which King Nicholas managed to get himself photographed for the local society pages. Not all of their schemes were as successful, or as above-board: the King and Archbishop also collected for charity, the money going mostly toward keeping them in snacks, and they sold a number of peerages over the internet for large sums of money. You won't be surprised to learn that the whole enterprise ended rather badly.

Forgot, he has a website HERE (http://www.kingnicholas.com/)

[hymartin]

Still reading the A Thousand Splendid Suns...

[Xythan]

Red Storm Rising - Tom Clancy

Read it when I was younger but I wanted some Soviet war action so it was as good a choice as any. Great book, very well thought out.

[pliskin]

Sandworms of Dune.
the latest in the long line of Dune series by Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson

[Elf]

Small Island by Andrea Levy.

A fictitious account of some the first Caribbean peoples to enter and settle in Great Britain after WWII. An excellent read with all of the characters view points studied and recreated to great effect in passing on a legacy that most Brits do not understand , nor know about.

[damo]

The Six Sacred Stones - Matthew Reilly

Me too.

[Enos]

Iron Sunrise - Charles Stross

[ezer]

Me too.

i was SOOOOOOOO unhappy with the ending to that!

tom clancy red rabbit now

[Fleur]

cloudstreet - tim winton
It's been one of those books that I've always meant to read and never got round to, but so far seems good!

[Elf]

Deception Point - Dan Brown.

[annie]

"Coming up for Air" by George Orwell.

[Girl.]

Alternating between "Perfume" and a book on medieval English law.

[JumpinJez]

"Return Engagement: The Grapple" by Harry Turtledove.

The latest in a long line of alternate history books, starting from when the US Civil War was drawn, and the Confederate States of America still existed. Really interesting, makes me want to learn more about the US Civil war

[Serpent_Girl]

Jennifer Fallon - Wolfblade, Book 1 of the Hythrun Chronicles

It is a great read, I really like it (and her other books)!

[gunsella]

metamagical themas - douglas hofstadter.

essential geek reading.

[Fenaughty]

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S Thompson

[Enos]

Watchmen - Alan Moore

[Combat Wombat]

Just finished "Chronicles of the Raven" and am in the middle of "Legends of the Raven". It's a pair of fantasy trilogies by James Barclay about a group of mercenaries. Not a bad read

Chronicles: Dawnthief, Noonshade and Nightchild
Legend: Elfsorrow, Shadowheart and Demonstorm

[Buffy]

3 at the moment, Shantaram - by Gregory David Roberts who is a convicted Australian bank robber and heroin addict who escaped from Victoria's Pentridge Prison and fled to India where he lived for 10 years. On the run in Bombay; he sets up a free clinic in a slum, works for the biggest Don in the Bombay Mafia, works as a money launderer and street soldier, heads straight into Russian guns in the mountains of Afghanistan... <-- from wiki :P

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain (2007) by Oliver Sacks. He previously wrote things like 'The man who mistook his wife for a hat', stories about neurological conditions and different experiences. This book looks at music and its effect on the brain.

"Oliver Sacks's compassionate, compelling tales of people struggling to adapt to different neurological conditions have fundamentally changed the way we think of our own brains, and of the human experience. In Musicophilia, he examines the powers of music through the individual experiences of patients, musicians, and everyday people--from a man who is struck by lightning and suddenly inspired to become a pianist at the age of forty-two, to an entire group of children with Williams syndrome who are hypermusical from birth; from people with "amusia," to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans, to a man whose memory spans only seven seconds--for everything but music."

and lastly, The Time Traveler's Wife, which is a novel by Audrey Niffenegger. It is an unconventional love story that centers on a man with a strange genetic disorder that causes him to unpredictably time-travel and his wife, an artist, who has to cope with his frequent absences and dangerous experiences. In this book, unlike many other time travel stories, it is not possible to change the past or future. <-- wiki too

all good reads so far :)

[damo]

i was SOOOOOOOO unhappy with the ending to that!

I know what you mean. I'm thinking it must be a two parter, although there was no mention of it anywhere in the book that I could find.

[and3w]

The Book of Dave -Will Self

Funny, Ironic, full of ideas; typical Will Self book really.
4 1/2 stars

[priji]

I hate reading but i am some magazines like- fashion, shopping,sports, health, business magazines i like it.

[and3w]

Rereading 'Religion & the Decline of Magic' by Keith Thomas.

35 years on it is still an awesome peice of scholarly writting, understandable to the non-scholar but still deep & full of meaning.

Should be compulsory reading for anyone interested in the history of the early-modern period.

[Snazz]

Matter - Ian M Banks
Another novel in the Culture universe, thoughtful sci-fi.

[Girl.]

and lastly, The Time Traveler's Wife, which is a novel by Audrey Niffenegger. It is an unconventional love story that centers on a man with a strange genetic disorder that causes him to unpredictably time-travel and his wife, an artist, who has to cope with his frequent absences and dangerous experiences. In this book, unlike many other time travel stories, it is not possible to change the past or future. <-- wiki too

I met Audrey Niffenegger last time I was in London. She is just amazing and her book is good too.

I just finished reading Germaine Greer's "Shakespeare's Wife" and am now reading "A Short History Of The World" by Geoffrey Blainey and the Lonely Planet guide to India.

[Enos]

Matter - Ian M Banks
Another novel in the Culture universe, thoughtful sci-fi.

You bastard.

[muppet]

FaustEric by Terry Pratchett.

EvilMuppet recently introduced me to Pratchett (even though I've had Sapia banging on at me for the past 12 months to start reading his stuff) and I've read 12 of the discworld books in the past fortnite. But we're missing a few, so I'm hopping back and forth.

I want my own Luggage :(

[Dundasbro]

BAH! Wrong thread!

Oh and The Periodic Table by Primo Levi

[Snazz]

You bastard.

Yes, it's like crack isn't it :)

[and3w]

Oh and The Periodic Table by Primo Levi

WOW...Primo Levi is a God amongst men IMHO...I think I have read all his books. he makes me cry.
:love:

[Glompbot]

Fluff stuff because a friend going OS gave me some of her books:
The devil wears prada by Lauren Weisberger

[Enos]

Matter - Iain M Banks

Now I'm happy

[and3w]

Ditto.
Seconded

[Mr. Bungle]

Shantaram and it is fucking great so far

[Fenaughty]

The salmon of doubt - Douglas Adams, yet to reach the Dirk Gently bit, but the writings and musings of the man over the years have been a great read, the ideas that banged around in his head and his thoughts on what we should have in technology are very apt for the time he wrote them, and some have even come about now

[Girl.]

Love in the time of Cholera

[sagit]

"Dreamland: Piranha" by Dale Brown and Jim deFelice

[sagit]

FaustEric by Terry Pratchett.

EvilMuppet recently introduced me to Pratchett (even though I've had Sapia banging on at me for the past 12 months to start reading his stuff) and I've read 12 of the discworld books in the past fortnite. But we're missing a few, so I'm hopping back and forth.

I want my own Luggage :(

send to me when finished kthx

[and3w]

Just finished Matter.
Awesome ending, great book

[satori]

Just finished Matter.
Awesome ending, great book

Got to get me a copy of that.

I just don't understand why Banks has not won any awards, as he writes some of, if not the best, contemporary sci-fi.

I just finished reading 'The Time Travelers Wife'. It is not the type of thing I'd normally read, being basically a romance novel, albeit a highly unusual one. But I did enjoy it.

[hymartin]

The Last Vampire 1 - Christopher Pike

[and3w]

Got to get me a copy of that.

I just don't understand why Banks has not won any awards, as he writes some of, if not the best, contemporary sci-fi.

I just finished reading 'The Time Travelers Wife'. It is not the type of thing I'd normally read, being basically a romance novel, albeit a highly unusual one. But I did enjoy it.

Interesting Banks site here (http://www.iain-banks.net/)

and to put you in the mood, an essay, 'A Few Notes on the Culture' is here (http://www.futurehi.net/phlebas/text/cultnote.html)

I also enjoyed the time travellers wife (even if i can't pronounce the authors name...audrey WHAT!!); it wasn't quite what I expected, but was good.

PS: Iain Banks is up for the scottish writers prise soon...

Oh, and Paul Cornell (of Dr Who fame) is adapting 'The State of the Art' to be a BBC Radio 4 play laer this year...I will provide copies, for a suitable bribe :silly:

[sagit]

the internet by various authors

:D

[Lina]

Shantram by Gregory Roberts. Pretty damn interesting. And it's a hefty book. I like hefty books.

[Lina]

Shantaram and it is fucking great so far

Wait...are we reading the same book or just one with a very similar name?

Edit: no, I just spelt it wrong. We're reading the same book. How about that :D


Edit edit:

3 at the moment, Shantaram - by Gregory David Roberts

And you're reading/read it too! Shit. I really must read the thread before posting. I had no idea it was so popular. Just picked it up from my housemates bookshelf.

[dozer]

is everyone reading shantaram? its a well good book.

blind faith by ben elton

[Xythan]

Finished Magician, Silverthorn, A Darkness at Sethanon in the last few weeks and am now starting Daughter of the Empire.

I read this series ten years ago, great books...in fact out of the most read books on the planet Magician is (was?) number twelve as far as I know. I love the fact that number one is Lord of the Rings with The Bible pulling in second. Hehe! :greenwink

[metalhed00]

I can't believe I can actually contribute to this thread! Anyway…

I am reading 'Doc Holliday'. Very intresting read so far.

[locust]

Just finished Max Barry's "Syrup".

[Snazz]

Just finished Matter by Ian M Banks, onto 13 by Richard Morgan

[Serpent_Girl]

Jennifer Fallon's The Tide Lords, Book 3 - The Palace of Impossible Dreams. I love this author :D

[BlueBoy]

Just finished Max Barry's "Syrup".

Liked it?

[locust]

Liked it?

Yes. It did strike me as a bit same-ish to Company, but that's not a bad thing.

[Something Fast]

After finding the Hogfather on DVD the other week, I've decided to re-read all of Terry Pratchett's stuff.

At the moment I'm halfway through The Colour of Magic.

It's not as polished as his later stuff, but it's funnier in some ways.

[MisterBishi]

Reading Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Short-History-Nearly-Everything/dp/0552997048/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205490417&sr=1-1) (which is something everybody should do) led me to be fascinated with the history of thought and ideas, so I started reading the following this morning...

A Terrible Beauty: The People and Ideas That Shaped the Modern Mind (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Terrible-Beauty-People-Shaped-History/dp/1842124447)

Book Description
A history of the twentieth century which covers all the ideas, people, great events, literary and artistic movements, scientific discoveries which have shaped the twentieth century.

Synopsis
Terrible Beauty presents a unique narrative of the twentieth century. Unlike more conventional histories, where the focus is on political events and personalities, on wars, treaties and elections, this book concentrates on the ideas that made the century so rich, rewarding and provocative. Beginning with four seminal ideas which were introduced in 1900 - the unconscious, the gene, the quantum and Picasso's first paintings in Paris - the book brings together the main areas of thought and juxtaposes the most original and influential ideas of our time in an immensely readable narrative. From the creation of plastic to Norman Mailer, from the discovery of the 'Big Bang' to the Counterculture, from Relativity to Susan Sontag, from Proust to Salman Rushdie, and Henri Bergson to Saul Bellow, the book's range is encyclopedic. We meet in these pages the other twentieth century, the writers, the artists, the scientists and philosophers who were not cowed by the political and military disasters raging around them, and produced some of the most amazing and rewarding ideas by which we live.
Terrible Beauty, endlessly stimulating and provocative, affirms that there was much more to the twentieth century than war and genocide.

[sagit]

Wait...are we reading the same book or just one with a very similar name?

Edit: no, I just spelt it wrong. We're reading the same book. How about that :D


Edit edit:



And you're reading/read it too! Shit. I really must read the thread before posting. I had no idea it was so popular. Just picked it up from my housemates bookshelf.

and its being made into a movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429087/

Johnny Depp playing a heroin addict. whoda thunk it?

[muppet]

After finding the Hogfather on DVD the other week, I've decided to re-read all of Terry Pratchett's stuff.

At the moment I'm halfway through The Colour of Magic.

It's not as polished as his later stuff, but it's funnier in some ways.
i'm reading Soul Music at the moment. I love Death

[pliskin]

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.
so far its an interesting read.
i've only read the 1st 20 or so pages, was recommended it to me by satori.

i still think 1 of the best books i have ever read is IMAJICA, by Clive Barker.

[and3w]

At the moment I'm halfway through The Colour of Magic.

It's not as polished as his later stuff, but it's funnier in some ways.

Trouble with Mr Pratchett's books - ya read 1 (mildly funny) one, you have read them all, it's just a difference in his skill as a writer, not much different or better. IMHO.

I'm reading 'Spike Milligan - The Biography' by Humphrey Carpenter Humphrey Carpenter's Spike Milligan: The Biography is a brilliantly incisive journey into the life and mind of this mentally tormented comedy genius, and no subsequent book is likely to offer such a striking picture of a unique entertainment life. But one would expect no less from Carpenter, whose biographies of such figures as the composer Britten and the playwright Dennis Potter quickly established themselves as definitive.

Amazon (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Spike-Milligan-Humphrey-Carpenter/dp/0340826126/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205507906&sr=8-14)

Tis V V good, so far

[Glompbot]

gardens of the moon... again

[Girl.]

"Half a Yellow Sun" and re-reading "Possession" as well too.

[Hired Goon]

I just finished The Book of Illusions by Paul Auster. I didn't really like it because the main character is an annoying weinerboy.

[Jimma]

Vergil - Aeneid

[astro]

Benjamin Hoff - The Tao of Pooh

[Lurgen]

Astro, I read that one a few years back. Pretty cool little thing as it turned out, probably the best intro to Taoism I've seen. Don't forget there is also the Te of Piglet.

I just finished reading A Big Boy Did It And Ran Away, by Christopher Brookmyre. Not a bad choice for us geeks, plenty of cultural references that caught my interest but a solid story even for the non-geeks among us.