Books - What are you reading?

[cranford10]

Prolex-UK said:

LordGrover said:

Once A Pilgrim - James Deeg (99p on Kindle

Rollicking story of decorated ex-SAS soldier who's early life exploits catch up with him. Almost.
Fast paced, excellent thriller - sort like a Scotch Jack Reacher in the making. Not for the highbrow aficianados, but great fun.
Second in series due out in a couple of weeks.

+1 from me ......pre ordered the next one :-)

And me. Just finished , really enjoyed it

[marshallbrown]

Da Vinci Code

[toasty]

I'm revisiting The Stand by Stephen King. It's been 20+ years since I last read it and this is an extended version over the one I read.

A few hours in and I'm hooked again. Possibly Mr King's best.

[The Leaper]

Just finished reading the Freida Klein novels by Nicci French. There's eight in the series and must be read in sequence as there's continuous threads throughout. Freida Klein is an psychoanalyst who gets involved in police matters and gets in danger as a result. All good stories, well written and easy reads.

Especially good if you know central London back streets quite well.

R.

[andy_s]

Just finished Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago, which has been mentioned a few times on here already; excellent read - 'how easy Dostoevsky had it...'. The edition is the new abridged version [nicely] forwarded by J Peterson.

Edited by andy_s on Friday 11th January 04:48

[Goaty Bill 2]

andy_s said:

Just finished Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago, which has been mentioned a few times on here already; excellent read - 'how easy Dostoevsky had it...'. The edition is the new abridged version [nicely] forwarded by J Peterson.

"how easy Dostoevsky had it" A reference to 'House of the Dead' by Dostoevsky

I hadn't read Peterson's forward to this as yet, though I have of course previously watched his lectures on the subject of Solzhenitsyn and 'The Gulag Archipelago'.
So I looked it up: JB Peterson: Foreword to The Gulag Archipelago: 50th Anniversary
A powerful forward, and an excellent summation of Solzhenityn's conclusions.

Reading the The Gulag Archipelago is quite an experience.

[jimmyjimjim]

I finished the latest book in the safehold series, Through fiery trials. Blimey, but I'm going to be glad when the series is over. He needs to have a editor who punches him hard whenever he has a battle scene longer than a few pages.

Some interesting revelations, but no finish yet.

[Ardennes1944]

Just finished Ascent into Hell, fantastic read I very much enjoyed.

Just started And on that Bombshell by the sound editor of 2002-2015 Top Gear based on a recommendation here, great start to it so far.

[droopsnoot]

I've just finished "Cross and Burn" by Val McDermid. Another of the Tony Hill / Carol Jordan series, pretty good in itself though some parts spoiled by my reading them out of sequence.

[Ardennes1944]

valiant said:

Read Berlin, also by Beevor, afterwards.

It dovetails nicely from Stalingrad and is just as well written and easily readable.

Just saw this now, I actually read Berlin years ago when I was younger, could read it again actually. Of course I read them in the wrong order!

[droopsnoot]

I've just finished "The Secret Lemonade Drinker" by Guy Bellamy, another from a job lot. A gentle tale again, perhaps a bit less interesting than the previous one, but entertaining nonetheless.

[Nom de ploom]

gone back to fiction after two easy going non fiction reads

"we have no Idea - A guide to the unknown universe by Jorge Chan & Daniel Whiteson - light and easy going despite the potentially heavy subject matter and

"What if?" by randall munroe he of XKCD fame sensible answers to absurd hypothetical questions. a good bog read as the chapeters are discreet and succint.

but I've gone back to Jack and Steven, book 7 of the Patrick O'brian series The Surgeon's Mate. 20% in and its just as good as the others.

[plasticpig]

jimmyjimjim said:

I finished the latest book in the safehold series, Through fiery trials. Blimey, but I'm going to be glad when the series is over. He needs to have a editor who punches him hard whenever he has a battle scene longer than a few pages.

Some interesting revelations, but no finish yet.

I don't think David Weber is capable of finishing a series. His Honor Harrington books started in 1993 and the last one was released last year. One irritation I found was that there was a indeed a steam powered airship and given the amount library information about steam power it would be unlikely that this information was missed out as the inventor also invented the steam injector.

[Prolex-UK]

Reading Peter Crouch's autobiography How to be a footballer.

Very enlightening & amusing

[epom]

unrepentant said:

Finally got around to reading The Boss's autobiography.

A very enjoyable read for someone like me who has been a fan since the late 70's.

Have you watched Springsteen on Broadway ? Sat down. lit the fire had a take away and a beer watching it last Saturday night. Got surprisingly emotional watching it.... its like the book onstage. Incredible.

[nosemiej]

The stranger by Albert Camus

[andy_s]

nosemiej said:

The stranger by Albert Camus

I remember reading that yonks ago, better than 'The Trial'/Kafka I thought; at least the protagonist isn't as frustratingly 'laisser faire'.

Goaty Bill 2 said:

andy_s said:

Just finished Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago, which has been mentioned a few times on here already; excellent read - 'how easy Dostoevsky had it...'. The edition is the new abridged version [nicely] forwarded by J Peterson.

"how easy Dostoevsky had it" A reference to 'House of the Dead' by Dostoevsky

I hadn't read Peterson's forward to this as yet, though I have of course previously watched his lectures on the subject of Solzhenitsyn and 'The Gulag Archipelago'.
So I looked it up: JB Peterson: Foreword to The Gulag Archipelago: 50th Anniversary
A powerful forward, and an excellent summation of Solzhenityn's conclusions.

Reading the The Gulag Archipelago is quite an experience.

It certainly is, one I've wholeheartedly recommended to any that will hear - it should be mandatory reading in schools outside Russia as well, arguably more interesting and useful than Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner or whatever they read nowadays. Eminently readable but with pearls of wisdom scattered throughout; "The imagination and the spiritual strength of Shakespeare's evildoers stopped short at a dozen corpses. Because they had no ideology. Ideology—that is what gives evildoing its long-sought justification and gives the evildoer the necessary steadfastness and determination." etc. I'll definitely pick up Day in the Life of... and First Circle.

[Goaty Bill 2]

andy_s said:

Goaty Bill 2 said:

andy_s said:

Just finished Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago, which has been mentioned a few times on here already; excellent read - 'how easy Dostoevsky had it...'. The edition is the new abridged version [nicely] forwarded by J Peterson.

"how easy Dostoevsky had it" A reference to 'House of the Dead' by Dostoevsky

I hadn't read Peterson's forward to this as yet, though I have of course previously watched his lectures on the subject of Solzhenitsyn and 'The Gulag Archipelago'.
So I looked it up: JB Peterson: Foreword to The Gulag Archipelago: 50th Anniversary
A powerful forward, and an excellent summation of Solzhenityn's conclusions.

Reading the The Gulag Archipelago is quite an experience.

It certainly is, one I've wholeheartedly recommended to any that will hear - it should be mandatory reading in schools outside Russia as well, arguably more interesting and useful than Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner or whatever they read nowadays. Eminently readable but with pearls of wisdom scattered throughout; "The imagination and the spiritual strength of Shakespeare's evildoers stopped short at a dozen corpses. Because they had no ideology. Ideology—that is what gives evildoing its long-sought justification and gives the evildoer the necessary steadfastness and determination." etc. I'll definitely pick up Day in the Life of... and First Circle.

One of the many great quotes from Solzhenitsyn, and easily one of my favourites as it rings equally true today, and one might say; throughout all of human history.
You must have been really paying attention

I would recommend, unless you are collecting first editions, to look for 'In the First Circle' paperback single volume. Published by Harper Perennial 2009. It is more complete and in the form Solzhenitsyn originally desired. Earlier volumes were translated from the version intended for the Soviet Union and their censors. The inner leaf describes it as 'the restored text'.
'A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich' is an absolute must. Having read the Gulag Archipelago, you will appreciate just how 'toned down' Ivan Denisovich was to get it published in the Soviet Union, but an excellent and moving read nonetheless. It has received high praise in this thread, and a few others, on numerous occasions.

[SouthernSkye]

Just re-reading Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian. I read Aubrey Maturin books again every few years. Also not long since finished M*A*S*H as I have the ilm and dvd set but had never read the book.

[andy_s]

Goaty Bill 2 said:

I would recommend, unless you are collecting first editions, to look for 'In the First Circle' paperback single volume. Published by Harper Perennial 2009.

Cheers GB2, I'd already ordered that very version.