Author Topic: What was the last book you read? (Read 152763 times)

corkboy · « **Reply #4440 on:** November 10, 2011, 09:44:27 PM »

Quote from: Veinticinco de Mayo on November 10, 2011, 11:29:18 AM

I would skip "On the Origin of Species" for now mate. If you are wanting a quite brilliant updated take on Darwin's theory and how it ties in with our modern understanding of genetics then your best bet is "The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkins. Don't be put off, this was his last great science book, before he got sidetracked into arguing with the religious nutters who objected to it.

Haven't read the Blind Watchmaker but I understand it's rather good.

evenflow · « **Reply #4441 on:** November 13, 2011, 05:03:04 PM »

Finally got through 'Life and Fate' by Vasily Grossman. Definitely recommend the read- powerful story that paints a picture of totalitarianism through the eyes of one family, centred around the battle for Stalingrad. Particularly incisive in it's reading of anti semitism.
The chapters on the gas chambers left me quite numb, Grossman really does knit together the sense of absolute terror and yet lifts you with the flickering flame of humanity in the people destined to die. Grossman really has a knack of controlling the sense of time throughout his book but especially so with the walk to the gas chambers.
A must read if you want a sense of how Fascism and totalitarianism extinguishes freedom.

FlashingBlade · « **Reply #4442 on:** November 13, 2011, 05:10:48 PM »

just finished 'Red Plenty' , a fictional take on Russias Economic planning in the fifties and Sixties...based on made up characters in real situations...a more fun read than it implies and eye opening in the similarities on modern 'free' markets

arthur sarnoff · « **Reply #4443 on:** November 13, 2011, 05:13:01 PM »

Quote from: FlashingBlade on November 13, 2011, 05:10:48 PM

just finished 'Red Plenty' , a fictional take on Russias Economic planning in the fifties and Sixties...based on made up characters in real situations...a more fun read than it implies and eye opening in the similarities on modern 'free' markets

I've got that sat on my Kindle. I keep meaning to get round to it, but getting sidetracked by new Murakami books and the like. That era fascinates me, so I must get cracking on it soon.

Chinbits · « **Reply #4444 on:** November 13, 2011, 05:13:32 PM »

The Camel Club by David Baldacci. Excellent read, comes highly recommended.

JP-65 · « **Reply #4445 on:** November 13, 2011, 05:23:06 PM »

Just finished "All Hell Broke Loose" by Max Hastings. A superb one book history of WWII, well worth the read. I've read a fair bit about this war, but discovered lots I wasn't aware of.

FlashingBlade · « **Reply #4446 on:** November 13, 2011, 05:27:45 PM »

Quote from: arthur sarnoff on November 13, 2011, 05:13:01 PM

I've got that sat on my Kindle. I keep meaning to get round to it, but getting sidetracked by new Murakami books and the like. That era fascinates me, so I must get cracking on it soon.

Saying its on your Kindle and the contents of that book makes me smile...get on to it and let me know what yer think!

Chinbits · « **Reply #4447 on:** November 13, 2011, 05:31:52 PM »

Quote from: JP-65 on November 13, 2011, 05:23:06 PM

Just finished "All Hell Broke Loose" by Max Hastings. A superb one book history of WWII, well worth the read. I've read a fair bit about this war, but discovered lots I wasn't aware of.

Cheers for this mate, I was looking to get a book on World War II but wasn't sure which one so you've made the choice for me.

arthur sarnoff · « **Reply #4448 on:** November 13, 2011, 06:00:31 PM »

Quote from: FlashingBlade on November 13, 2011, 05:27:45 PM

Saying its on your Kindle and the contents of that book makes me smile...get on to it and let me know what yer think!

Will do mate.

gomez · « **Reply #4449 on:** November 13, 2011, 09:48:40 PM »

Finished IQ84 Book II and it's all getting a bit weird.

JP-65 · « **Reply #4450 on:** November 13, 2011, 10:11:29 PM »

Finished a short book, "The Wandering Falcon" by Jamil Ahmed, a first book by a 79-year-old former Pakistani administrator!

It's based on his life experiences with the Pakistani/Afghani border and its people, and is superb!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jun/25/wandering-falcon-jamil-ahmad-review

Carra-ton · « **Reply #4451 on:** November 15, 2011, 04:01:28 PM »

Reading the prince of thorns by Mark Lawrence, brilliant so far. It is kind of like the British version of a game of thrones but with a really ruthless revenge story.

Veinticinco de Mayo · « **Reply #4452 on:** November 15, 2011, 04:08:56 PM »

Quote from: JP-65 on November 13, 2011, 10:11:29 PM

Finished a short book, "The Wandering Falcon" by Jamil Ahmed, a first book by a 79-year-old former Pakistani administrator!

It's based on his life experiences with the Pakistani/Afghani border and its people, and is superb!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jun/25/wandering-falcon-jamil-ahmad-review

Just added that to my Amazon list along with Willy Vlautin's first novel. Cheers John

gerrardsarmy · « **Reply #4453 on:** November 18, 2011, 11:30:37 AM »

Just read "The Associate" by John Grisham.

Meh.

Snej · « **Reply #4454 on:** November 18, 2011, 12:51:14 PM »

1Q84
Very underwhelming. Escpecially the last volume was poor

JP-65 · « **Reply #4455 on:** November 18, 2011, 01:48:00 PM »

"Anatomy of a Disappearance" by Hisham Mater, superb.

Story of his childhood, the disappearance of his father, abducted by Libyan agents, in Qaddafi days. Story of loss.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/anatomy-of-a-disappearance-by-hisham-matar-2226591.html

His first book, Booker prize nominated, "In the Country of Men" is also worth a read.

doc_antonio · « **Reply #4456 on:** November 18, 2011, 01:50:55 PM »

A Song of Ice and Fire: Game of Thrones, after watching the first season i had to get the bookset.. that book is brilliant, cant wait to start the second book 'Clash of Kings' absolutely brilliant story's highly recommended to anyone.

CLOCKSPEED · « **Reply #4457 on:** November 18, 2011, 02:20:11 PM »

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Immortal-Life-Henrietta-Lacks/dp/0330533444/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321625592&sr=8-1

Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks Excellent true story . Mix of science and autobiography

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Forgotten-Highlander-Incredible-Survival-During/dp/0349122571/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321625715&sr=1-1

The Forgotten Highlander . What can I say bar unbelievable 10/10 Have more than a sneaking suspicion the author still bears a grudge to his captors.

Elli · « **Reply #4458 on:** November 19, 2011, 03:55:33 PM »

Quote from: CLOCKSPEED on November 18, 2011, 02:20:11 PM

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Immortal-Life-Henrietta-Lacks/dp/0330533444/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321625592&sr=8-1

Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks Excellent true story . Mix of science and autobiography

Absolutely fantastic book. I'm looking forward to re-reading that.

rednile · « **Reply #4459 on:** November 19, 2011, 04:41:10 PM »

Quote from: JP-65 on November 10, 2011, 08:31:31 PM

I'm 2/3 through "All Hell Let Loose" by him, he does write good WWII history books!

Im finding Armageddon a really interesting read , I will get round to reading All Hell Let Loose .

hassinator · « **Reply #4460 on:** November 19, 2011, 04:41:45 PM »

Quote from: JP-65 on November 10, 2011, 08:31:31 PM

I'm 2/3 through "All Hell Let Loose" by him, he does write good WWII history books!

is he as good as anthony beevor? all his second world war books are magnificent particularly stalingrad.

the contrast between the eastern and western front is astonishing.

i've just finished robinson crusoe which is superb.

i had no idea how diluted it had become through retelling as naff tv series or films.

a gripping, page turning read and absolutely free if you've got a kindle.

CLOCKSPEED · « **Reply #4461 on:** November 19, 2011, 04:41:59 PM »

Quote from: Elli on November 19, 2011, 03:55:33 PM

Absolutely fantastic book. I'm looking forward to re-reading that.

Same subject but just not getting into it need to concentrate more well written and researched just not hooked strange for me

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Emperor-All-Maladies-Siddhartha-Mukherjee/dp/0007250916

JP-65 · « **Reply #4462 on:** November 19, 2011, 05:41:19 PM »

Quote from: hassinator on November 19, 2011, 04:41:45 PM

is he as good as anthony beevor? all his second world war books are magnificent particularly stalingrad.

the contrast between the eastern and western front is astonishing.

i've just finished robinson crusoe which is superb.

i had no idea how diluted it had become through retelling as naff tv series or films.

a gripping, page turning read and absolutely free if you've got a kindle.

They're both very good.

JP-65 · « **Reply #4463 on:** November 19, 2011, 05:51:56 PM »

If you're interested in Kashmir, Mirza Waheed's "The Collaborator" is a very good read.

The history's will be written in time, but for now, we have to be content with great fiction describing current events, and this is one of them.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/mar/05/collaborator-mirza-waheed-review

Another good one is "Chef" by Jaspreet Singh.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/chef-by-jaspreet-singh-1933450.html

arthur sarnoff · « **Reply #4464 on:** November 19, 2011, 08:23:25 PM »

Quote from: FlashingBlade on November 13, 2011, 05:27:45 PM

Saying its on your Kindle and the contents of that book makes me smile...get on to it and let me know what yer think!

I've read the first part now, and I have to say it's very good.

JavierMascherano20 · « **Reply #4465 on:** November 23, 2011, 10:59:55 PM »

I’ve just started reading 'World War Z', so far, so good.

hassinator · « **Reply #4466 on:** November 23, 2011, 11:09:12 PM »

Quote from: JP-65 on November 13, 2011, 05:23:06 PM

Just finished "All Hell Broke Loose" by Max Hastings. A superb one book history of WWII, well worth the read. I've read a fair bit about this war, but discovered lots I wasn't aware of.

should i just download the lot? never really liked him as a man. too right wing when he was editor of the telegraph but his history does always get the thumbs up. i've done all the beevor stuff apart from the spanish civil war so need a new source.

working through tom holland's 'persian fire' which isn't nearly as much fun as 'rubicon' but source material is going to be sketchy when you slip back another 500 years.

Rusty Oysterburger · « **Reply #4467 on:** November 23, 2011, 11:20:40 PM »

I've had All Hell Let Loose on my Kindle for a while now, pleased to see it getting so many thumbs up looking forward to getting stuck into it after I've finished Catch 22

The Gulleysucker · « **Reply #4468 on:** November 23, 2011, 11:24:51 PM »

Quote from: hassinator on November 23, 2011, 11:09:12 PM

should i just download the lot? never really liked him as a man. too right wing when he was editor of the telegraph but his history does always get the thumbs up. i've done all the beevor stuff apart from the spanish civil war so need a new source.

Honestly, ignore the right wing bit, his conflict histories are very good and readable. Armageddon, Bomber Command and his Korean War are excellent.

Quote from: hassinator on November 23, 2011, 11:09:12 PM

i've done all the beevor stuff apart from the spanish civil war so need a new source.

Your missing the best one. Fantastic book.

Zeb · « **Reply #4469 on:** November 24, 2011, 12:53:44 AM »

Quote from: hassinator on November 23, 2011, 11:09:12 PM

should i just download the lot? never really liked him as a man. too right wing when he was editor of the telegraph but his history does always get the thumbs up. i've done all the beevor stuff apart from the spanish civil war so need a new source.

For Eastern Front, try David Glantz if you're into operational details (I've just finished Barbarossa Derailed again in preparation to review his second part of it). Richard Hargreaves has done a couple of decent books based upon German soldiers' recollections which are a little closer in style to Beevor and Hastings. Tony Le Tissier's Death Was Our Companion is similar to Hargreaves in telling the story of the fall of Berlin from the perspective of the individual soldier. Richard Overy's work is good for the big picture.

arthur sarnoff · « **Reply #4470 on:** November 24, 2011, 12:56:07 AM »

Has anyone got any recommendations for good books about East Germany, by any chance?

Trabolgan · « **Reply #4471 on:** November 24, 2011, 09:03:52 AM »

Stasiland by Anna Funder.

Veinticinco de Mayo · « **Reply #4472 on:** November 24, 2011, 10:00:25 AM »

Quote from: Trabolgan on November 24, 2011, 09:03:52 AM

Stasiland by Anna Funder.

Beat me to it. Great book.

arthur sarnoff · « **Reply #4473 on:** November 24, 2011, 04:05:39 PM »

Cheers lads, I'll give it a go.

Manav · « **Reply #4474 on:** November 24, 2011, 04:57:47 PM »

Currently reading "The Magic of Reality" by Richard Dawkins. I know it's probably aimed at people younger than myself, but I'm still finding it pretty interesting and enjoyable

sparkiemark73 · « **Reply #4475 on:** November 24, 2011, 05:13:41 PM »

Nearly through 'I Partridge, We need to talk about Alan'........ a ruddy triumph.

JP-65 · « **Reply #4476 on:** November 26, 2011, 09:25:23 AM »

theasianword twitter

I'm with Jeremy Paxman who chose Jamil Ahmad's The Wandering Falcon as book of the year in the Guardian: bit.ly/tFxhKd

gomez · « **Reply #4477 on:** November 27, 2011, 03:58:19 AM »

The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy, a fictional story based on a true crime that took place in 1940's Hollywood. A bit slow getting going but overall an enjoyable read.

Lady_Brandybuck · « **Reply #4478 on:** November 27, 2011, 05:34:40 AM »

a military book: "Easy Company Soldier: The Legendary Battles of a Sergeant from World War II's "Band of Brothers"
It was very good and easy to read, some amazing stories in it.

geoffstrong 1937-2013 RIP · « **Reply #4479 on:** November 27, 2011, 08:38:50 PM »

Currently reading the John Hartson Biog brilliantly put together by others as well as John filling the blanks from when he nearly died, also he is very honest about the money he wasted gambling , a product of too much money too much free time to waste it.