Books - What are you reading?

Books - What are you reading?

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Discussion

silverthorn2151

6,298 posts

178 months

Tuesday 21st April 2015
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Starting on the 2nd in the Montmerancy series of books.

My wife and I loved the first so much she introduced it into her school reading curriculum. The kids loved it and it has become a firm fixture.

If you haven't come across it don't be put off by teenagers enjoying it. The title character is the alter ego of a bit of a scallywag in Victorian London. Won't say much more for fear of spoilers but if short of a simple read that is just a great story give it a go.

Nom de ploom

4,890 posts

173 months

Monday 27th April 2015
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Finished The Woods by Harlan Coben, first of his I've read and really enjoyed it, the first person style was good and the interplay between the main characters came across really well.

there was a point about a third in where it started to drift a bit but it was a decent page turner.....

looking for my next read now....

RizzoTheRat

25,082 posts

191 months

Monday 27th April 2015
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100 Days, Sandy Woodward's memoir of the Falklands. (only £2.99 on kindle)

I spent a couple of days last year doing some work with Mike Clapp (commander of the amphibious task force) and Julian Thompson (commander of 3 Commando Brigade), so interesting to see how Woodward's take on things varies.

BrassMan

1,482 posts

188 months

Monday 27th April 2015
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A Great and Terrible King by Marc Morris.

I'll be following it up with The Indian Mutiny by Saul David and The Dowager Empress Cixi by Jung Chang.

Perseverant

439 posts

110 months

Friday 1st May 2015
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Has everyone here stopped reading? I'm on Roy Jenkins's Churchill just now, with Tobias Smollet and James Lee Burke on the side. Also some old "Practical Motorist" mags from the fifties with hilarious and dangerous tips like tying a ball joint together with bits of inner tube! Assuming you've survived the inevitable loss of control of car and bowels.laugh Must go beer!

K12beano

20,854 posts

274 months

Friday 1st May 2015
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Perseverant said:
Has everyone here stopped reading?
No, but I've stalled on War and Peace - so it just feels like it....


rofl

E24man

6,654 posts

178 months

Friday 1st May 2015
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Managed to finish Orlando Figes 'A Peoples Tragedy'; an outstanding study of the intricacies of the Russian Revolution and ultimately the raping of the Russian people by a few egotistical and pyschopathic individuals.

Inbetween times I read 'Happy Odyssey' by Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart - a towering and undeafatable character.

Then flew through a pulp novel, Girl on a Train which apparently is a well written thriller being picked up by Hollywood but I correctly pinged the killer on page 98 of about 350.

Now ploughing through Edward Rutherford's 'New York' after previously reading his 'Sarum', 'Russka' and 'Dublin'.

Then perhaps back to Russia with a dog-eared copy of Sir Bernard Pares, 'Fall of the Russian Monarchy' and 'Ten days that shook the World' by John Reed.


jbudgie

8,841 posts

211 months

Friday 1st May 2015
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Working my way through Jo Nesbo and Harlen Coben stuff.

Shadow R1

3,798 posts

175 months

Friday 1st May 2015
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Shadow R1 said:
Got a few to get through. smile



I tried the tomb a Fargo adventure, didn't like it.

Black wind and Atlantis found were very good.
Arctic drift was good.
Crescent dawn good.
Trojan odyssey good.
Havana storm ok.

Dying hours, good one about Thorne.
Rush of blood, i didn't like got 100 pages in and gave it to the charity shop.

Assassin is in progress now. smile

droopsnoot

11,806 posts

241 months

Tuesday 5th May 2015
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I've just finished "A thousand suns" by Alex Scarrow, which wasn't what I was hoping it would be. The cover blurb talks about the allies secretly surrendering to the Nazis and an accidental discovery of said fact, and I was hoping it might have gone in a different direction than it did. Before that I read "In the name of honour" by Richard North Patterson, which wasn't bad but dragged on a lot. Courtroom drama, bit of a twist but quite plodding.

On "Suspect" by Robert Crais now.

LordGrover

33,531 posts

211 months

Tuesday 5th May 2015
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Thanks to this topic or another similar on PH, I'm really enjoying The Count of Monte Cristo - Dumas.
Exceptional story telling, it's drawn me in. Just finished volume one and if I get a chance tonight, eager to begin volume two.

Lefty

16,127 posts

201 months

Tuesday 5th May 2015
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Re-reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for the first time in about 20 years. I got a newly translated version, it's fantastic!

FunkyNige

8,858 posts

274 months

Wednesday 6th May 2015
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I've been reading a lot of the Black Library Warhammer 40k books recently, I think I'm regressing back into the teenage me!
Most recently the Night Lords trilogy (all a bit serious really with a couple of comic relief murdering psychopath characters), and a few of the Commissar Cain books (which I find really funny, full of fairly off the wall humour and doesn't take itself too seriously).
I'm not sure how much knowledge of the whole universe you need to understand those books, but as a bit of a geek I love them.

I also bought a book that was recommended on the Audible adverts on the end of a Youtube video - The Martian by Andy Weir. It's about an astronaut who gets stranded on Mars and has a Robinson Crusoe type survival story but obviously set on Mars so has to worry about air, food, power, etc.
It's written as a first person log mostly (as he's alone), with a few 'normal' parts in there for the bits on Earth, etc. Can get a bit technical but it's only a sentence at a time where he just spouts a bunch of numbers at you.

I only intended reading a few pages on Monday morning, but 7 hours later I finished it in one sitting!

Lefty

16,127 posts

201 months

Wednesday 6th May 2015
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The Martian has been mentioned on here a few times, it really is superb.

Ridley Scott film with Matt Damon as Watney due out 25th Nov



Edited by Lefty on Saturday 9th May 07:51

StuntmanMike

11,671 posts

150 months

Wednesday 6th May 2015
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Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance, enjoyable book if a little heavy going in places.

downthepub

1,373 posts

205 months

Wednesday 6th May 2015
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Lefty said:
Re-reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for the first time in about 20 years. I got a newly translated version, it's fantastic!
Now that is a shout. Not read that myself since I were a lad. Unless my parents have chucked out my copy, entirely possible after leaving the parental nest 20 years ago, I'll dig it out and have a read.

Started "Lonesome Dove" by Larry McMurtry. So far so good. Good job I like frontier western, days of yesteryear, stuff I suppose.

AngryPartsBloke

1,436 posts

150 months

Friday 8th May 2015
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I love reading and did a lot in the past but in recent years haven't done much, lack of time or lack of making time. A Women i went on a few dates with back in March bought me Pawn of Prophecy, the first book in the belgariad series as gift. I got hooked and yesterday i got the entire set and plan to read through them all.

jimmyjimjim

7,329 posts

237 months

Saturday 9th May 2015
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Not read that in years, I'll have to dig it out, along with the Elenium.

leglessAlex

5,381 posts

140 months

Saturday 9th May 2015
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The Belgariad series is fantastic, I must read them again sometime. I like the fact the books aren't too long, very easy to get through.

tertius

6,838 posts

229 months

Saturday 9th May 2015
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They are pretty good, but aimed at teenagers rather than adults I'd say. Certainly I've not been tempted to re-read them since I was at school.