Books - What are you reading?
Discussion
K12beano said:
Welshbeef said:
I've no interest in biographies
They never featured heavily for me, but then (a long time ago) I read David Niven's books. And because they were the opposite of "look at me, look at me " I took a fresh view on biography and auto biography completely - but biographies are a difficult one. Someone's own story is good - someone else's take on a story is ... Dubious ... At best.
lowdrag said:
Er - 37 kgs? That's the Encyclopaedia Britannica then! It doesn't look nearly 6 stone to me 
It comes in a box which is also pretty heavy and I really struggled to get it out of my car so yup, nearly 6 stone all in all. 
http://www.thisisopus.com/formula-1/about
Recently finished:
William Boyd - Waiting for Sunrise. he is one of my favourite authors and I particularl like his historical based dramas, this is not quite a "Any Human Heart" but still very very good
Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn. Been inthe bestseller charts for ages, I bought it as part of an xmas present but recipient already had 2 of the 3 I chose, and i kept them as it was more expensive to return to Amazon than they cost I think! Really enjoyed it, some nice dark twisties and the ending didnt go all Hollywood thank god, about to made into a film
William Boyd - Waiting for Sunrise. he is one of my favourite authors and I particularl like his historical based dramas, this is not quite a "Any Human Heart" but still very very good
Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn. Been inthe bestseller charts for ages, I bought it as part of an xmas present but recipient already had 2 of the 3 I chose, and i kept them as it was more expensive to return to Amazon than they cost I think! Really enjoyed it, some nice dark twisties and the ending didnt go all Hollywood thank god, about to made into a film
Wings On My Sleeve by Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown RN.
Autobiography of one of Britain's most successful Test Pilots. Unusually for a test pilot he was Fleet Air Arm rather than RAF and he specialised in aircraft carrier deck landings and developed many of the methods still in use. His modesty deflects you away from his achievments. Several times in the book reports that, "This was the first time this had been done," obscures the fact that Eric was the first person in the world to do something, like land a jet fighter on an aircraft carrier for example. Someone had to do it and it was him.
He was also a fluent German speaker and his adventures in Germany towards the end of the war are astonishing. Beating the army to an airfield in search of prototype aircraft and having to accept the German CO's surrender springs to mind.
Brilliant.
Autobiography of one of Britain's most successful Test Pilots. Unusually for a test pilot he was Fleet Air Arm rather than RAF and he specialised in aircraft carrier deck landings and developed many of the methods still in use. His modesty deflects you away from his achievments. Several times in the book reports that, "This was the first time this had been done," obscures the fact that Eric was the first person in the world to do something, like land a jet fighter on an aircraft carrier for example. Someone had to do it and it was him.
He was also a fluent German speaker and his adventures in Germany towards the end of the war are astonishing. Beating the army to an airfield in search of prototype aircraft and having to accept the German CO's surrender springs to mind.
Brilliant.
Adam B said:
Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn. Been inthe bestseller charts for ages, I bought it as part of an xmas present but recipient already had 2 of the 3 I chose, and i kept them as it was more expensive to return to Amazon than they cost I think! Really enjoyed it, some nice dark twisties and the ending didnt go all Hollywood thank god, about to made into a film
I finished this yesterday, I really enjoyed it too.Nabbed the Game of Thrones from the library the other day, really enjoying it. There I was thinking that I was a little old for all that nonsense, but George RR Martin has a nice writing style. Started Dominion after looking forward to reading it, but the writing style is decidedly pedestrian.
downthepub said:
Nabbed the Game of Thrones from the library the other day, really enjoying it. There I was thinking that I was a little old for all that nonsense, but George RR Martin has a nice writing style.
Ditto - had been avoiding these for a while (not sure why!) but am very much enjoying the first book, about a quarter of the way in 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26726864 No books!! I'm definitely not getting caught now!
Xaero said:
jimmyjimjim said:
Just finished 'The Martian' by Andy Weir.
"Apollo 13 meets Cast Away in this grippingly detailed, brilliantly ingenious man-vs-nature survival thriller, set on the surface of Mars."
Highly recommended. I enjoyed it enormously, one of the most interesting books I've read in a long time..
That book is high up my list. It was all told the science ended up telling the story, it sounds like a lot of research went into it. Well promoted too as numerous newspaper websites covered it."Apollo 13 meets Cast Away in this grippingly detailed, brilliantly ingenious man-vs-nature survival thriller, set on the surface of Mars."
Highly recommended. I enjoyed it enormously, one of the most interesting books I've read in a long time..
Would make a good film.
t. Good book if you want to understand mourning love and grief. r-kid said:
After getting bored of reading science fiction I decided to read something different:
I remembered most of this from my degree so it was more like a refresher course in relativity & quantum mechanics. Interesting to delve back into this world again.
I'm just starting this now:
Really enjoy Richard Dawkins, especially his combative style - as a teenager it helped me to resolve a number of questions I had and cement my position as an Atheist. I remembered most of this from my degree so it was more like a refresher course in relativity & quantum mechanics. Interesting to delve back into this world again.
I'm just starting this now:
As I've snapped my humerus and am off work I'm trying to get back in to reading regularly, I've warmed up with my favourite "Catch 22" and am now trying "Night" by Elie Wiesel, about his experiences of the Holocaust.
Just finished "You will never find me" by Robert Wilson. Firstly, I hate books that make references to a previous novel to encourage you to buy another, but in this case by the time you get to the end you'll be sure you won't want to buy another anyway. Clunky, and you'll never find the copy I've just finished either.
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