TSF Book Club
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despite me planning on doing some reading on holiday, I didnt do much, so only just finished Gates of Rome.<br />
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Good book, didnt quite grip me as the Conqueror series, but still good, want to read the rest of the series now, although stil have book 5 of the Conqueror series, which became available at my library while away on holiday!!<br />
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Still trucking on Dance with Dragons too, good book, alot of stuff going on, hope he is gonna be able ot tie everything up before he dies <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/rugby/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' /> -
Been getting into some of Bernie Cornwell’s gear lately - like the historical fiction stuff.<br />
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Kindle rocks.<br />
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Sent from my Nexus 7 which is more awesome than the All Blacks and the All Whites put together -
NTA, I am a big fan of Cornwell, love his books. the Sharpe's rifles ones for shits 'n'giggles, and his other ones are a bit more involved, the King Author / merlin etc series.<br />
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Currently re reading the harry potter books, up to book 5. Once re read I'll then do the DVD marathon.... -
I have a bunch of Cornwalls book for my iPad, just need to find the time to read them
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Got a Nexus 7 as a gift and downloaded the Kindle app for it. Works nicely but needs more charging than the Kindle I have all my books on.<br />
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The Warlord series by Cornwell was pretty hardcore to start with. Grail Quest was heaps easier to get into. -
For anyone inspired by the fight over on the super-trawler thread, I'd suggest reading "Four Fish" by Paul Greenberg. He focusses on four fish species (apparently as a species in our food production we have almost always settled on four main options of each food type) and examines why we prefer certain types of fish to others, and how they get onto our table. The conclusions he comes to are pretty interesting, and he's very even-handed in his treatment of fishermen, fish farmers and environmentalists. I was actually pretty positive when I finished it, certainly not all doom and gloom, even if there are some things that have to change like the amount of fish that goes into animal and pet food.<br />
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I also recommend "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. I got onto this via Greenberg. Pollan's an investigative journalist, with no particular agenda to push apart from the fact that we should maybe know more about what we eat and why. It's inevitably US focussed, but an easy read - stylistically like Bill Bryson. He's particularly interested in why some things get categorised as good things to eat while others are bad things, and what realistic alternatives there are in a growing world full of hungry mouths. One of the things that surprised me was how often what we end up getting offered by food retailers is influenced by things like diet fads (Atkins etc) and fashion as much as sometimes dubious public policy.<br />
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A typical quote "[font=JoannaMT][size=3]A country with a stable culture of food would not shell out millions for the quackery (or common sense) of a new diet book every January. It would not be susceptible to the pendulum swings of food scares or fads, to the apotheosis every few years of one newly discovered nutri[/size][/font][font=JoannaMT][size=3]ent and the demonization of another. It would not be apt to confuse protein bars or food supplements with meals or breakfast cereals with medicines. It probably would not eat a fifth of its meals in cars or feed fully a third of its children at a fast-food outlet every day. And it surely would not be nearly so fat." [/size][/font]<br />
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Good reads both of them, both available for Kindle. -
"The Meaning of Sport" by Simon Barnes<br />
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Enjoyable for the most part - even if he lost me in his flowery prose every second or third chapter when he set out to prove he's a writer who follows sport and reads a bit and is a well rounded intellectual rather than a sports fan who writes about it (which he is).<br />
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Still, some really interesting anecdotes and analysis - unfortunately I can't share with you as I've had to take it back to the library...<br />
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One interesting snippet that stayed with me was his comments on sports needing to look after their heartland, ie., not to take them for granted when pursuing the fickle fans otherwise they will drift away. And yes he was talking circket - at least at one stage. He did IIRC discuss the same with regard to other sports as well - but the T20 discussion stuck with me. -
Also recently finished reading "Fire in the Night - The Piper Alpha Disaster" by Stephen McGinty<br />
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For those who can remember the mid-80s the Piper Alpha was a Norh Sea oil rig.<br />
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I copied the blurb below from amazon.com:<br />
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[i]The fire was visible seventy miles away as a distant, flickering flame on the horizon. The heat generated was so intense that a helicopter could only circle at a perimeter of one mile. Flying at a height of 200 feet, the air crew saw that the tongues of flame extended high above the rotor blades. On the surface a converted fishing trawler inched as close as possible, but the paint on the vessel's hull blistered and burnt, and the rope handrails began to smoke. In the water surrounding the inferno, men's heads could be seen bobbing like apples as their yellow hard hats melted with the heat. At the centre stood, at least for now, the Piper Alpha oil platform, 110 miles northeast of Aberdeen, once the world's single largest oil producer. On 6 July 1988, its final day, it was ablaze with 226 men onboard. Only sixty-one would survive. Fire in the Night will tell, for the first time and in gripping detail, the devastating story of that summer evening. Combining interviews with survivors, witness statements and transcripts from the official enquiry into the disaster, this is the moving and vivid tale of what happened on that fateful night inside an oil rig inferno.[/i]<br />
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Fascinating and harrowing and moving all at once.<br />
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I acquired mpg file called "Spiral to Disaster" (not sure if I should have it or not) which is also about Piper Alpha - only watched it the once and not for a year or two - and it is similar in the detail of the disaster (but doesn't include the befores/afters/reactions). Both though describe the breakdown in QA procedures that meant that features that were relied upon were not in place and nobody knew so the various pipelines continued to pump and did not shut down. This was exacerbated by indecision, financial imperative and disbelief.<br />
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Worth a read. -
Have become addicted to the Song of Ice and Fire Books. Normally I'm not a fan of fantasy but these books shæt on LOTR. Its fired up my inner nerd so much that I've even been reading the website forums for even the tinniest tidbits of info. I just hope we won't be kept waiting another 6 years for the next installment.<br />
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I think the tv series has done a mighty job in staying loyal to the books but I'm not sure how they be able to keep up from book 3 onwards. The scope of the story is ridiculous. -
[quote name='Rancid Schnitzel' timestamp='1347448889' post='310488']Have become addicted to the Song of Ice and Fire Books. Normally I'm not a fan of fantasy but these books shæt on LOTR.[/quote]<br />
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Different generations though. The Seven Kingdoms works because it is much more of a political drama than a fantasy epic, and it has so very many bastards in it. <br />
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LOTR was pure high fantasy at a time when the only real literature on series and survey was all the bullshit they made up about medieval times (like chivalry which was purely an invention of the writers centuries later).everything about modern fantasy spawned from that. -
[quote name='NTA' timestamp='1347449286' post='310489']<br />
Different generations though. The Seven Kingdoms works because it is much more of a political drama than a fantasy epic, and it has so very many bastards in it.<br />
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LOTR was pure high fantasy at a time when the only real literature on series and survey was all the bullshit they made up about medieval times (like chivalry which was purely an invention of the writers centuries later).everything about modern fantasy spawned from that.<br />
[/quote]<br />
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Yeah I guess you have to take the differences in eras into consideration. No disrespect to Tolkien but LOTR still had a fair bit of the "jolly old adventure" aspect to. SOIAF's version of a hobbit is a horny, foul-mouthed dwarf. -
Not to mention LOTR was supposedly only the vehicle for Tolkein to create his Elvish language.<br />
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I am in the last couple of chapters of A Dance With Dragons. -
[quote name='booboo' timestamp='1347446063' post='310480']<br />
"The Meaning of Sport" by Simon Barnes<br />
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Enjoyable for the most part - even if he lost me in his flowery prose every second or third chapter when he set out to prove he's a writer who follows sport and reads a bit and is a well rounded intellectual rather than a sports fan who writes about it (which he is).<br />
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Still, some really interesting anecdotes and analysis - unfortunately I can't share with you as I've had to take it back to the library...<br />
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One interesting snippet that stayed with me was his comments on sports needing to look after their heartland, ie., not to take them for granted when pursuing the fickle fans otherwise they will drift away. And yes he was talking circket - at least at one stage. He did IIRC discuss the same with regard to other sports as well - but the T20 discussion stuck with me.<br />
[/quote]<br />
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Oh yeah - the other particular point that he made that stood out was the cliche about a team winning "because they wanted it more". He suggested games are often won andlost because the team that "wanted it more" clammed up due to anxiety and suggests that therefore games are won by those that want it less.<br />
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Makes sense to me. -
http://theartofscrummaging.com<br />
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Topo Rodriguez got a bit frustrated with the current state of the scrum and decided to do something about it.<br />
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Includes contributions from Sir Wilson Whineray, Cobus Visagie, Philip Orr, Al Baxter, Pieter de Villiers, Ray Williams, Philip Keith-Roach and Sir Brian Lochore. <br />
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Looks good. -
[img]http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mexmpppJxa1rzvgly.jpg[/img]<br />
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I haven't read yet, but I'll be eagerly requesting my local library add a copy to their stacks. This review tells me the book will be everything I'd hoped for:<br />
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[color=#444444][font=Calibri, sans-serif][size=4][quote][/size][/font][/color][font=georgia,serif][size=4][color=#444444]But if the question is really “Did you enjoy this book?,†then the answer is “Absolutely.†...[/color]<br />
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[color=#444444]While much of [/color]Makeup to Breakup [color=#444444]is devoted to spectacularly gory character assassination directed at past musical and business associates, the book ultimately is an indictment of Criss himself. Criss is either brutally honest to his own detriment or completely lacking in self-awareness. Either way, [/color][color=#FF0000]it can’t be overstated how big of a dick he makes himself out to be[/color][color=#444444] in [/color]Makeup to Breakup.[color=#444444] Self-pitying, toxically bitter, violently angry, weirdly entitled, and given to rock-star petulance, Criss gives himself a royal hatchet job.[/color][/size][/font][color=#444444][font=Calibri, sans-serif][size=4][/quote][/size][/font][/color]<br />
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[color=#444444][font=Calibri, sans-serif][size=4]The whole review is hilarious and worth reading:[/size][/font][/color]<br />
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[color=#444444][font=Calibri, sans-serif][size=4][url="http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/63466/rock-memoir-book-club-original-kiss-drummer-peter-crisss-amazing-self-pitying-makeup-to-breakup"]http://www.grantland...keup-to-breakup[/url][/size][/font][/color] -
I have a bit of an addiction to reading books on my iPhone. So much so, that I have been [u]killing[/u] books recently.<br />
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I have a soft spot for pap, so I've been through the whole Jack Reacher series from beginning to end. Yes, they're kinda shit, but it's entertainingly readable shit. After that I gave Joe Nesbo a go and enjoyed the whole Scandi Crime thing with his Harry Hole novels (yes, all of them). I've also read the Stieg Larsson trilogy. After watching the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy film I got back in to John Le Carre and read the Smiley trilogy. Timeless thrillers that evoke old school espionage of the Cold War. Then I started on a series of Scottish crime novels from Stuart MacBride featuring a Detective Sergeant in Aberdeen called Logan McRae. The genre is Tartan Noir and the books are blackly comedic, gory, amoral and compelling. I recommend them to anyone.<br />
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I've also devoured Joe Abercrombie's latest, Red Country: a homage to old school westerns, which brings back to life one of his best-loved characters. I liked it, but to me it was a little bit obvious and not a patch on his previous novel, The Heroes.<br />
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I've enjoyed the first two books in the Patrick Rothfuss trilogy too: Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear. I wish the third would come out soon but Rothfuss seems to be pulling a GRR Martin there, which would be OK if the story arc wasn't a bit too Hogwarts in places and the protagonist a little less of a dick.<br />
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And finally, just read the second of the Locke Lamora novels from Scott Lynch: Red Seas Under Red Skies. Another fantasy series that is set to run and run. The first - The Lies of Locke Lamora was a little bit naive in parts so I wasn't going to carry on with the second until a mate said it was a lot better. He was right, it was an improvement in terms of plot and characterisation, but ultimately it's just a fantasy Patrick O'Brien-style novel of pirates and seafaring set in a mythical world of weird names, strange customs and imaginary creatures. Not bad though.<br />
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I was never a fan of fantasy until BSG turned me onto Game of Thrones. Sadly, all the other "Books with maps at the beginning" have failed to match up ever since - but I keep reading in the hope that one day one of them might. -
[quote name='Luigi' timestamp='1355354417' post='332388']<br />
Then I started on a series of Scottish crime novels from Stuart MacBride featuring a Detective Sergeant in Aberdeen called Logan McRae. The genre is Tartan Noir and the books are blackly comedic, gory, amoral and compelling. I recommend them to anyone.<br />
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[/quote]<br />
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I think I've mentioned those before in this thread. I hate it that MacBride has taken a break from McRae although Birthdays for the Dead is a good read in a similar vein. I love the characters in the McRae series and they would make great TV. DI Steel especially (a old hard, heavy smoking/drinking/swearing dyke).<br />
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If you like a bit of pulp, have you tried Stephen Leather? Among his books are two strong 'series'. One featuring an ex SAS undercover cop and one in a completely different vein being a 'supernaturnal detective series' about an ex-cop trurned PI that gets heavily caught up in the occult after finding out that his sould have been promised to a demon. Reads much better than it sounds.<br />
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Now that you've read the Reacher books can you honestly believe they cast Tom Cruise in the movie adaptations? every shot must be being done from below, with Cruise wearing platforms. -
MacBride has just released a couple of teaser short stories featuring Steel and MCrae to keep the pot boiling. I don't think it'll be long before he's back. And yes, the DI Steel character is pure gold.<br />
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I'll have a look at Stephen Leather - ta for the tip.<br />
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As for Jack Reacher, well Cruise bought the film rights so he was always going to play that part himself, no matter how ridiculous it is. I don't think Lee Childs cares much either way. -
[quote name='Luigi' timestamp='1355354417' post='332388']I have a bit of an addiction to reading books on my iPhone. So much so, that I have been [u]killing[/u] books recently.<br />
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I have a soft spot for pap, so I've been through the whole Jack Reacher series from beginning to end. Yes, they're kinda shit, but it's entertainingly readable shit. [/quote]<br />
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I read the first four back-to-back and found this to be the general thread of the author's thinking:<br />
<br />- figure out a way to ditch the last burd - chicks hate to love vagabonds, but love to shag them.<br />
- drop a crime in his lap and make him the centre of attention even though that shit would never fly in the real world<br />
- create "mystery" by having jack hold back perfectly obvious facts<br />
- shag a new burd<br />
- kill 3 or more people badass style while solving the crime
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[quote]Topo Rodriguez got a bit frustrated with the current state of the scrum and decided to do something about it.<br />
<br />
Includes contributions from Sir Wilson Whineray, Cobus Visagie, Philip Orr, [i][b]Al Baxter[/b][/i], Pieter de Villiers, Ray Williams, Philip Keith-Roach and Sir Brian Lochore.<br />
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Looks good.[/quote]<br />
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Hmmm, the 'how to bluff your way to 100 Super games" chapter... <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/rugby/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/eusa_think.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':think:' />
