View Full Version : Good Books
Post any good books you have read.
Preferably with a precis and rank out of 10.
All Quiet on the Western Front- Robert Graves. Memoir of life in the trenches WW1 by a literary genius.
The Great Railway Bazaar- Paul Theroux. The definitive travel book Round the world by train.
A Suitable Boy- Vikram Seth. Monster story of family life in India. 600 page holiday special.
Into that Darkness- Gitta Sereny. Insight into the mind of the Treblinka death camp commandant.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas- Hunter Thompson. The ultimate drunken road trip and lost
weekend rolled into one. Fantastic book.
Fate is the Hunter- Ernest Gann. Flying memoirs of a air transport pilot. Great writer.
The Last Grain Race-Eric Newby. Great story by a good writer who crewed on the barque
Moshila from Aussie to Europe. Also, A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush. Same writer.
Voyaging the Pacific- Miles Hordern. Best sailing book I've read for ages. NZ to Patagonia and back.
Give War a Chance- PJ O'Rourke. Essays by a Republican humourist.
The Spy Who came in from the cold- John Le Carre. The first of the best series of spy books ever written.
The Executioners Song- Norman Mailer. Last days of the convicted murderer, Gary Gilmore
who was shot by firing squad in Utah soon after the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty.
Cresting the Restless Wave- Paul Caffyn. Account of just one of Paul's sea kayak circumnavigations [NZ, Aussie, GB, Japan etc] One of my heroes.
Bomber-Len Deighton. Non fiction account of the bombing campaign WW2 by the spy story master.
Stalingrad, and Berlin- Anthony Beevor. Master historian's epic stories of these seiges. If you ever thought war was glamorous, the illusion is destroyed.
The Kon Tiki Expedition-Thor Heyerdahl. Reread this recently and it's aged well, still a good read. If you disregard his bullshit theories about migration.
Catch 22- Joseph Heller. The definitive anti-war story based on Heller's experience as a USAF bombadier in Italy. Very clever. Catch 22 has entered the lexicon.
GOOD AUTHERS... Anything by:
CS Forester- Historical novels mainly about the Napoleonic wars. Hornblower etc.
Earnest Hemingway- Earnie had a way of describing things all his own. His descriptions of bull fights, fishing, and Africa are still right up there.
Annie Prouix- Iconic writer of strange tales from America's outlands. Shipping News, Postcards, etc.
John Keegan- War historian at Royal Military College. Writes of war and battles. The Face of Battle, The mask of Command. etc
Richard Dawkins- The Selfish Gene and others. A biologist explains evolution and much else besides. A staunch opponent of the creationists.
To be continued...
Simon_NZ
07-12-2005, 21:30
The Count of Monte Cristo- Alexandre Dumas
The Odyssey- Homer
Birds of Prey- Wilbur Smith
Monsoon- Wilbur Smith
Warlock- Wilbur Smith
You havn't lived untill you've read those.
1984 - George Orwell
Animal Farm - George Orwell
The Warrior's Apprentice - Louis McMaster Bujold
Shards of Honor - Louis McMaster Bujold
Barrayar - Louis McMaster Bujold
House of Leaves - Mark Z Danielewski
An amazingly unique and original book... I don't know how to describe it. Intensely psychological? Just go here and read the reviews if you're interested, I highly recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375420525/ref=nosim/002-5523305-0194464?n=283155
Black Heart
07-12-2005, 23:50
ringworld series, well the last one i read was pretty lame, but the first 3 are good. larry niven
thomas convant series by stephen donaldson...very good (lord fouls bane is the first one) i actually hated the main character though.
anything by dan brown
clive cussler
frederick forsyth
deasmond bagley
divici code was mean :)
[SK]GenieNZ
08-12-2005, 04:50
A short history of nearly everything - Bill Bryson
Alaska - James A Michener
Space - James A Michener
and anything by Asimov.
ice_lioness
08-12-2005, 08:01
Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown and all other books by this author
Power of One & Tandia - Bryce Courtney
Dan Brown..PFFT.
The Diskworld Series, Terry Prachett (Its a laugh, so what)
Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky
I guess pretty much anything Charles Dickens if your so inclined.
Birds of Prey- Wilbur Smith
Monsoon- Wilbur Smith
Warlock- Wilbur Smith
You havn't lived untill you've read those.
Try, When the lion feeds, The sound of thunder and A sparrow falls. They are his best books by far. Berg, they are the first in the Courtneys series. River God is also a fantastic book.
My favourites.
Wilbur Smith
Dan Brown
Tom Clancy
Stephen Hunter
For a really interesting read, try The Feather Men, The Sett or The Secret Hunters all by Ranulph Fiennes. They will blow you away. Read The Feather Men first.
GenieNZ']A short history of nearly everything - Bill Bryson
the guy is a classic, some of his travel books " A walk in the woods" are brilliant reading.
I love old stephen king" IT, The Stand, Tommyknockers, Carrie, Firestarter" his list of old books is just great!! some of his new ones are ok like "Insomnia"
And as for some fantasy ones i quite enjoy David Eddings
you know theres a book with over 500+ sex positions.
Did you get past the first page Q? - Left or right hand :laff: :laff:
Did you get past the first page Q? - Left or right hand :laff: :laff:
LOL
hmm i havnt read in a while but id say
Magician series (raymond e feist)
Nearly all fantasy by gemmell or eddings (good heroic fantasy)
Lord of the Rings :D
Oh and Warlock was really good but i never got around to reading any of his other stuff
Oh and Rich Dad, Poor Dad series by Robert Kiyosaki :D these books can change the way you think about money...read it
Caranmellon
08-12-2005, 09:17
All Dickens, Lewis, Tolkien and Nylund works;)
The Odyssey- Homer
yeah man i love Homer,
anything to do with Prehistory, Mythology or Pagan religion
Apollonius - the voyage of the Argo
Xenophon - the persian expedition
and Q hers one for u, probably one of the earlist soft-porn stories (the text is over 2000 yrs old)
Apuelius - the golden ass
bloodyYOKEL-NZ
08-12-2005, 12:10
I was just reading about an interesting town in England called Hay-on-wye, where the worlds largest and grandest book store has been established.
The stores founder Richard Booth has been collecting all sort of books over generations beleiving no book is useless. As the town died from lack of employment Booth started using nearby buildings to warehouse his vast collection of thousands of books.
His bookeping efforts revived the town into becoming the biggest book trading busness in the world, containing rare and common books from all over the world for good price.
So all book fans here; now you know where to go for your overseas travel:)
Superman
08-12-2005, 14:10
Howard Marks - Mr Nice
Howard Marks - Book of dope storys
Howard Marks = FTW!
Hunter S Thompson - Kingdom of fear.
Red Storm Rising - Tom Clancy.
Rainbow Six - Tom Clancy
I'm not so much of a fan of Clancy's books on Jack Ryan, god I hate Ryan.
Try, When the lion feeds, The sound of thunder and A sparrow falls. They are his best books by far. Berg, they are the first in the Courtneys series. River God is also a fantastic book.
Yea Ive read every one of Smith's books. I reckon the ones I listed are the best, and yea Equity 7th scroll is wicked aswell. The problem is every one of his is so awesome its hard to pick favourites. Golden Fox is pretty crap though. Fook yea River god another great one. The ones with either Taita or the Courtneys (especially the ones set in 16-1700's) are just fantastic.
House of Leaves - Mark Z Danielewski
An amazingly unique and original book... I don't know how to describe it. Intensely psychological? Just go here and read the reviews if you're interested, I highly recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375420525/ref=nosim/002-5523305-0194464?n=283155
Ill second that one gave the bloody chills it did. Real good read.
I'm a big fan of Neal Stephenson, CRYPTONOMICON is my favourite book ever
http://www.nealstephenson.com/
I also like James Frey, A MILLION LITTLE PEICES and MY FRIEND LEONARD are great books.
Howard Marks - Mr Nice
Howard Marks - Book of dope storys
Howard Marks = FTW!
Hunter S Thompson - Kingdom of fear.
Forgot about Hunter S Tompson. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 1972, which are not novels per say but good reads.
His early stuff was great.
I had several weekends like that.
They aged me prematurely.
I tried to read crime and punishment, but couldn't.
-=CowwieStyle=-
08-12-2005, 20:10
"The polictics of chimpanzees" not the exact title i think, i read it ages ago, quite a interesting read when one compares it with human behaviour.
Has anyone ever read Homer's Odyssee or Ilias in Ancient Greek?
We had to do that back in third grade...
We are just stuck to 2500 years old latin texts at the moment. Not that that makes much difference but atleast this time I can understand what I am reading;)
awesome... does the translation into english lose much.
I didn't realise latin was still taught as a language
I have a lot of english versions of ancient greek stuff. It is quite interesting when you read these old texts, society and people have not changed much in the last 2500 yrs, just technology.
The Peloponnesian war is an interesting text.
Equity, my favourite non Jack Ryan book is called Without Remorse.
It is a very violent and at time sadistic book on how Mr Clark became Mr Clark.
If you read Clancy you will know who Mr. Clark is.
Caranmellon
10-12-2005, 11:27
At the Dutch and Belgian 'Gymnasia' (The only proper translation would be Grammar School, but you have to understand the Dutch system of education for this to be totally clear, I'll post the link to the system below), they still teach Ancient Greek and Latin. (I am not sure about other countries but I believe most European countries also teach both. It'll most likely be on the Wiki page)
Well we do not need to speak or hear Latin, it's only reading and translating. You start in the 2nd grade with both Ancient Greek and Latin. The first 2 years are basicly learning grammar and words (and the alphabet for Greek, as it is not our Roman alphabet) and translating simple or edited texts.
In the first week of Latin class, you start with simple texts you have to translate like:
"Iupitter deus est.
Iuna dea est.
Iupitter et Iuna filia habemus
<etcetera>"
At the end of the 3th grade you are able to translate edited texts from Caeser or Vergil.
After 3th grade you can choose between Latin, Greek, or both, to continue with. I chose Latin as I still do not master the simple Greek texts. I am in the fifth grade now and I just had an exam about 150 lines of Plinius and Cicero. Original texts. We had to translate them and stuff.
But yea a lot of things cannot be translated into Dutch or English, just because of the lack of those grammarstructures in our Germanic languages. It's a pity though. I really love the 'Pars pro totem' structures, where they use parts of something for the entire thing. This can be translated but it does not reach the effect which the original Latin texts have.
Wiki page on the Gymnasiumschooltype: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnasium_%28school%29
Wiki page on Dutch Education: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_Netherlands
The Serpentwar Saga - Raymond E. Feist.(most stuff by this guy prietty good so just listed the series i'm currently reading)
Raising The Stones - Sherri S. Tepper
Sideshow - Sherri S. Tepper
The Battle of the River Plate - Dudley Pope
The Nights Dawn Trilogy - Peter F. Hamilton
Superman
14-12-2005, 13:55
Forgot about Hunter S Tompson. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 1972, which are not novels per say but good reads.
True aint read them yet, seen the LV movie too many times though
Anyone read Hunter S Thompson - Hells Angels?
All my books tend to be series..
Robert Jordan - Wheel of Time (12+ books)
Ian Irvine - View from a Mirror (4 books)
Ian Irvine Well fo Echoes (4 Books)
I think these are the names of the series, i sometimes get confused when trying to remember them all.
True aint read them yet, seen the LV movie too many times though
Anyone read Hunter S Thompson - Hells Angels?
It was the first of his I read. Sonny Barger is the man.
Most of HST's are worth a look, but it helps if you're interested in US politics for some of them/
Possessed
14-12-2005, 16:39
All Peter F Hamilton books
(i tried to read Crime and Punishment but couldn't as well)
Anne Rice's vampire diaries are a lazy read
A Wizard of Earth Sea series ( cant remember the author)
and a book about Titus, its a 3 book fantasy series about his rise to power of a great nation
found it, Its Titus Groan
The Gormenghast Novels
The Face of Battle and others- John Keegan. War historian at Sandhurst writes of war and battles. Brilliant.
The Selfish Gene and others- Richard Dawkins. Arch-enemy of the creationists.
I went through a period of trying to read as many "classic's" as I could pull from memory, the best of which included:
Frankestein - Mary Shelley
To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
The Hobbit/LOTR - Tolkien
The Power of One - Bryce Courtney
The Green Mile - Steven King
More recently I've read:
The Harry Potter series up to Prisoner of Azkaban so I'm trying to delay seeing the new potter movie - J K Rowling
Stalingrad - Antony Beever
Armageddon - Max Hastings (Better then Antony Beever so far, I'm about two chapters in, I'll definately read Overlord after this)
DaVinci Code, Digital Fortress, Angels & Demons & Deception Point - Dan Brown
Patriot Games (again two chapters in, I'll hit it hard tonight) & Rainbow Six (reading for the third time, one of my all-time favs) - Tom Clancy
supertech
20-12-2005, 02:28
david eddings books are good fillers between finding other things to read. but i dont rate them as that great.
frank herbert-
dune chronicles
the green brain
the dosadi experiment
the santaroga barrier
the jesus incident
a song of ice and fire series - book 4 just released, cant remember author and cbf'd looking it up
raymond e.fiest or however you spell it, some good books, riftwars and such
i know im forgetting shitloads of books/authors but meh :p
just started the wheel of time :\
The Last Days of Hitler.
Hugh Trevor-Roper.
Drunken nazi rats leave the sinking ship that is Hitler's Third Reich.
The definitive book on Adolph's final days.
Randomized
20-12-2005, 23:37
david eddings books are good fillers between finding other things to read. but i dont rate them as that great.
frank herbert-
dune chronicles
the green brain
the dosadi experiment
the santaroga barrier
the jesus incident
a song of ice and fire series - book 4 just released, cant remember author and cbf'd looking it up
raymond e.fiest or however you spell it, some good books, riftwars and such
i know im forgetting shitloads of books/authors but meh :p
just started the wheel of time :\
Have you read anything by Hugh Cook, New Zealand author along the same lines as Eddings but way better. He has a series out.. cant remember the name of it and cant be bothered looking right now but about 9 books in the series, plus a couple more ..
Edit: found one of his series lying around.. Chronicles Of An Age Of Darkness is the series.
supertech
20-12-2005, 23:54
Have you read anything by Hugh Cook, New Zealand author along the same lines as Eddings but way better. He has a series out.. cant remember the name of it and cant be bothered looking right now but about 9 books in the series, plus a couple more ..
Edit: found one of his series lying around.. Chronicles Of An Age Of Darkness is the series.
nah don't really know any nz authours but i'll ask around ;O bros gf has shitloads of books
No one put Robert Ludlum, I read the Bourne Identity a long long time ago, maybe 15 yrs old at the time. That was an awesome book if your into action - suspense
How about Jack Kerouac -Dharma Bums, Desolation angels etc some good reading there.
Nelson DeMille, Len Deighton, Tom Wolfe, Leon Uris. Jeez Catch 22 takes me back lol
Some very funny books by Tom Sharpe - Wilt, Wilt on High, PorterHouse Blues etc soe date back to the 70s but just abot have you pissing your pants at the situations his characters get into. Highly recommended if you want a good laugh.
Leslie Thomas -Onwards Virgin Soldiers is another great book
Funny I have probably read every book Equity put up apart from Dan Brown lol
Cheers Jay
Sorry Zarkov didnt see you had put Deighton
Fathers and Sons- Alexander Waugh.
Autobiography of the literary Waugh family by the grandson of Evelyn Waugh.
A fascinating study of the English social and literary scene over the last 3 generations.
Alexanders father, Auberon especially had a way with the wounding epithet that I particularly admire. His Autobiography "Will this do?" is very funny.
These are very clever people.
tommosimmo
02-01-2006, 11:47
awesome... does the translation into english lose much.
I didn't realise latin was still taught as a language
I have a lot of english versions of ancient greek stuff. It is quite interesting when you read these old texts, society and people have not changed much in the last 2500 yrs, just technology.
The Peloponnesian war is an interesting text.
hmmm.... I think that people slightly vary from one to another and have changed to accomodate the new technology.
For Example, My nan rings us up on the telephone all the time, usually at 8:00 in the morning, just to say hi. But you will never see her touch a computer. Whereas i know a 70 year old man who plays CoD2, HL2 and BF2 nearly every day.
edit: Maybe its not people as a race or society, but just peoples lifestyles. You dont see mature people driving own the street in there 1930 windup fords.
tommosimmo
02-01-2006, 11:51
Has anyone read Good Night Mr. Tom?
Its a really good book that tells a story about an english boy who was moved out to the country side during WWII. When he arrives, he doesnt speak to anyone and is very shy. As you read on, the boy makes friends with a number of different characters and learna to read and write. The mans he stays with is called Old Tom and he didnt like to get involved with the town people. When he develops the relationship with the boy, he starts to do more and more things that he hadnt done since his wife died. Its is a ver good book for any one 15 and up.
Iron Coffins.
Herbert Werner.
Memoir of a U-Boat captain who survived the war.
In 1943 every U-boat that sailed from the bases in Brest, St nazaire etc, had only a 1 in 4 chance of returning, so this guy is a rarity.
It is one of the very best war stories I have read, well written, and exciting. It documents his slowly dawning disillusionment as he realizes the war is lost. These guys were brave, no doubt.
I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest.
tommosimmo
04-01-2006, 07:04
Iron Coffins.
Herbert Werner.
Memoir of a U-Boat captain who survived the war.
In 1943 every U-boat that sailed from the bases in Brest, St nazaire etc, had only a 1 in 4 chance of returning, so this guy is a rarity.
It is one of the very best war stories I have read, well written, and exciting. It documents his slowly dawning disillusionment as he realizes the war is lost. These guys were brave, no doubt.
I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest.
sweet... ill look for it
tommosimmo
04-01-2006, 07:49
Keep away from me you little retard.
wtf?
Simon_NZ
12-01-2006, 23:30
Wtf has that got to do with post u fag cat?
I hope you got desexed.... Cuz ur little pussies would be screwed.
BAD Tom!
BAD Zarkov!
Keep away from me you little retard.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAhahahahahaahhahaha.
Very nice.
Battle Cry - Leon Uris
bf2 musta got 2 me
Vonn Braun
25-01-2006, 12:40
Tales of Ancient Egypt, kickass book.
Letters from the coffen trenchs - Ken Catran
chem_imbalance
26-01-2006, 10:33
The Diskworld Series, Terry Prachett (Its a laugh, so what)
Im with ya on that one. Great series of books. If you like monty python read these books :chuckle:
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. The movie (which also kicks ass) was based on it, although changed a bit. The book is just as good if not slightly better.
Ellfish, ellfish, who the f**k is ellfish.
Barracuda 945, by Patrick Robinson.
The story of an American soldier who, while on a mission in Palestine which he knows is bs, decides to switch teams. He becomes a member of HAMAS, and manages to aquire a nuclear submarine, which he sails to America and blasts the shit out of all their power stations. Being a nuclear sub, they can stay submerged so the Americans cant find them, and being an ex high profile American soldier, he knows where all the American underwater sub-detector things are.
Not a bad book, outlines the danger America faces if the enemy was to get their hands on a nuclear sub.
Simon_NZ
26-01-2006, 19:17
Ellfish, ellfish, who the f**k is ellfish.
Barracuda 945, by Patrick Robinson.
The story of an American soldier who, while on a mission in Palestine which he knows is bs, decides to switch teams. He becomes a member of HAMAS, and manages to aquire a nuclear submarine, which he sails to America and blasts the shit out of all their power stations. Being a nuclear sub, they can stay submerged so the Americans cant find them, and being an ex high profile American soldier, he knows where all the American underwater sub-detector things are.
Not a bad book, outlines the danger America faces if the enemy was to get their hands on a nuclear sub.
Bergs description is wrong
Major Ray Kerman, a renowned british SAS commanding officer defects, and yes they get a sub but then are found out and hunted down like the terrorist dogs they are
:P
Bergs description is wrong
Major Ray Kerman, a renowned british SAS commanding officer defects, and yes they get a sub but then are found out and hunted down like the terrorist dogs they are
:P
You got me there. I read it about 3 years ago so cant remember the details.
But he gets away in the end.
Or does he? You'll have to read it to find out :)
Ellfish, ellfish, who the f**k is ellfish.
You, my good sir, would likely find me on the CS:Source forums. Although I tend to lurk the Off Topic and post on the odd occassion.
Brave new world. Aldous Huxley
Anything buy Aldous Huxley
Hemingway.
The teachings of Don Huan. Carlos Castaneda. Cult classic during the 60's. During this books peak it had many a tripped out uni students go to mexico in search of Don Huan.
Zarkov I also liked Stalingrad and Berlin. They freaked me out though. Fuckin' near made me cry some of the shit them commies and the jerries pulled.
Oh and to all you George Orwell fans. Huxley pwns his ass anyday. Well some of Orwells Poems are wicked. Animal Farm and 1984 are way overated. They are just satires. Yes even 1984. Capitolism anyone?
Go the thread revival, Its a goodun.
The Secret Hunters by Ranulph Fiennes
This is a story written from documents found in Antartica (all revealed in the book) about forced death marches by the Nazis during the second world war.
A lot of interesting facts in this backed up by a lot of research. Well worth a read.
Check here (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0751531936/203-9594314-7946314#product-details) for reviews and comments on the book
shirtkicker
15-02-2006, 11:45
Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
The Scar, by China Mieville
A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson - I'm reading right now.
I'll also read anything by Terry Pratchett, but I go through them in a day or two at the most - so easy to read.
But Cryptonomicon you have to read - it looks pretty scary to begin with, but it's riveting! I even know people that have re-read it, but only the WWII chapters, and it still holds together as a good story! (It jumps between present day and WWII stories that interweave into one big treasure-hunt epic.) 9/10
The Scar is a nicely formulated fantasy world - one you can almost imagine living in yourself, in a way... 8.5/10
A Short History... is one for the science buffs, but in layman's terms - and also more about the characters in scientific history than the actual science... started strong, but the anthropology chapters nearer the end aren't quite as interesting as the first half of the book. 6.5/10
Currently reading through the Tom Clancy series' ('Executive Orders' at the moment)
Read through the Raymond E Fiest series' (Great fantasy author)
Lee Child
Christopher Riech
Nelson Demille
Jack Higgins
John Grisham (Good motivation for mah Law Study lol)
There the only ones i can think of atm.
Lol and yeah i read alot!
Oh and cheers Garra for the Clancy recommendation, ill read Without Remorse next coz Mr Clark pwns :)
Baldesto
28-02-2006, 08:56
terry brooks, the shannarra series
stephen king all of them, but the stand and the talisman stand out most
dean koontz
david baldacci
neil gaiman
ludlum
lots of sci-fi i cant remember...
one sticks in my mind about vietnam, chickenhawk, bugeered if i can remember the author tho,about flying hueys .
Green River Running Red.
Ann Rule.
This is one of heaps of books Ann Rule has written on this sort of subject. She is readable though.
It's the story of Gary Ridgeway, the Green River Killer, who confessed to murdering 51 young women, and probably kiiled another 20 or so.
He was unexceptional [which made him hard to catch], apart from the sheer numbers involved. Most were teenage hookers, taken from the same general area of Washington state.
One of the interesting things about the case is the dire consequences of an almost non-existent welfare state on vulnerable young women. These girls were literally turning tricks to get something to eat, and somewhere to spend the night. They were easy targets for this classic sociopath.
Ridgeway is currently serving 51 consecutive life sentences.
Gary Ridgeway cared for no one but himself.
7/10
Simon_NZ
05-03-2006, 10:31
Why he do it?
Why he do it?
He had a strange mother.
She used to scrub him when he wet himself.
This used to turn him on.
Are psychopaths made or born?
Demandred
05-03-2006, 21:19
um
Wheel of Time Series - he has done 11 in the series so far said to only do 12 - even if the last has to be over 2000 pages long - due out 2008 ish
series is just plain awesome
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant - both series so far - he has recently put out another book - think its the start of the 3rd series of this - and TC is back from the dead - waiting for next book to find how how / why etc etc - good reads - but i didnt like the 2nd series as much
David Eddings - with his duel series about Sparhawk - great fun to read - not heavy - but a little frustrating in parts
oh and i am also reading the instruction manual for BF2 - may as well learn to play it someday
Flatduck
16-03-2006, 16:50
Michel Houellbecq - Atomised, Platform, Lanzarote, The Possibility of and Island. He's bloody funny, though pretty depressing at the same time, but then he is French after all.
If you like that sort of stuff then Journey to the End of the Night by Louis Ferdinand Celine is very good too (Please no Celine Dion jokes).
As far as fantasy goes Tim Powers is the best I've read, though he does kind of mix fantasy with contemporary (or historical) reality. The Anubis Gates, Last Call, Declare, The Drawing of the Dark are the best ones of his that I've read.
Anything by Martin Amis or Ian McEwan, except Saturday, that sucked ass.
Spacemonkey
16-03-2006, 23:05
Wheel of Time Series - he has done 11 in the series so far said to only do 12 - even if the last has to be over 2000 pages long - due out 2008 ish
series is just plain awesome
...
I'm about half way through it, book 6 I think, it is awesome. But I'm taking a break from the series atm, just read Enders Game by Orson Scott Card (really good book, everyone should read it) and now i've started reading Chronicles of Narnia.
He had a strange mother.
She used to scrub him when he wet himself.
This used to turn him on.
Are psychopaths made or born?
It's a topic often discussed. My 7th form English teacher was a good friend of a phsycologist who specialised in the criminally insane. This guy dealt with some of the sickest minds in New Zealand on a daily basis. He believed that some people are pure evil and that there is no good in there being and that they have always been so. He also said that alot of the'se crazies have, due to things endured become crazy.
I don't believe in good nor evil.
Good Authors
Aldous Huxley for Brave New World and Island. I am yet to read some of his other works. His brain intrigues me.
Good books
Carlos Castaneda for the teachings of don juan. This book apparently a true story was a huge hit in the 70's it inspired many a UNI student to go searching for the medecine man, who is only given fuck all of a description (appearance wise) in the book.
Stalingrad, I forget who the author is.
Human Punk by John King. His other works that i've read weren't spectacular England away and The football factory (they made a movie out of that one).
I've just started reading a bit of old hemingways stuff it's wicked.
I like the old Orwell poems and stuff too.
Superman
20-03-2006, 10:09
Woot just brought Rusty Young - The Marching Powder off tm... been wanting this book for a very long time, anyone read it?
sacredpossum
20-03-2006, 10:14
I just bought the sex and the city book from a second hand store for $2 lol looks good so far
For the last couple of hundred years people have flocked to see the mighty Grand canyon.
Inevitably quite a few of them have died in some way or other, and this book documents those deaths.
There are sections devoted to death from thirst, drowning, and aircraft accident, but one of the best is called "falls from the rim"
An amazing number of falls from the rim occur when people try to take their photograph with the canyon in the background.
They go something like this: "Back a bit more aunt Myrtle, a little more, back a bit more, Ahhhhhhhhhhh"
Another good section deals with young men who camp on the rim then drink beer all night.
At some stage some of them feel the urge to pee, and lack the discretion required to keep far enough back from the rim while doing so.
"Ahhhhhhh" "AHHHHH!"
Possessed
07-04-2006, 19:07
The Good Woman of China.
excellent book
FFS Possessed.
I could write a better review of that book.
And I've never read the$%^& thing
Interesting chapter on a/c accidents at the canyon
The crux of the problem is that the canyon rim is about 7000 feet absl.
With summer temperatures in the high 30's C this gives density altitudes up round 11000 Ft
Most piston twin engine a/c can't maintain altitude on one engine at that height let alone climb, so an engine failure is traumatic for them
The accident statistics show twins as the most unsafe a/c type operating in that area.
s3cr3tfox1
19-04-2006, 12:49
the god factor ,by that guy who used 2 be channel 3 news presenter.
whats his name someone ,wishart [ian i think]
not about religion.
and one called, surpressed inventions of the 20th century,
Another interesting chapter in my Grand Canyon book relates to suicides, particularly vehicular ones.
Prior to the movie "Thelma and Louise", these were rare, but since then there have been 8 more.
The vehicle of choice is a Hertz rental. Some people travel to the canyon in their own car, hire a rental car, and drive it off the edge at speed.
The record for a Hertz is 1500 vertical feet.
The horizontal distance is not stated, but it must have been a spectacular [and lengthy]ride.
Auschwitz.
A new history.
By Laurence Rees.
This is one of the books I'm reading atm. One of 20 or so I've read on the subject of the death camps.
It's well written, authoritative, and easy to read, if it's possible to say that of a book on a subject such as this.
As I read it, I was struck once again by the drab, dreary banality of this enormous industrial killing machine. By the strange people who ran it, the recognizable people who facilitated it, and above all by the familiarity of the sentiments they held.
I'm drawn to books on this subject because they are part of the history of mankind. You cannot understand the meaning of life or know the mind of man till you can fathom the reason for Treblinca, Belzec, and Auschwitz.
Some of the men who worked in these camps came here to NZ and Australia. They came not from Germany, but from the Baltic and Slavic states. Most are dead now, but people like them walk the streets, waiting only for the complicit snigger at a racist joke.
RetardoBot
08-06-2006, 21:27
Age: 21
Books read to date: 0
Crossy 51
08-06-2006, 21:40
led zeppelin: uncensored
good read if u like the band
is catch 22 any good? ive always wanted to read it but havent got round to it as ive never met anyone who has who can tell me if its worth it, lol
im currently reading executive orders by tom clancy, pretty good so far
is catch 22 any good? ive always wanted to read it but havent got round to it as ive never met anyone who has who can tell me if its worth it, lol
im currently reading executive orders by tom clancy, pretty good so far
Catch 22 is 10 times better than anything Tom Clancy ever wrote.
s3cr3tfox1
09-06-2006, 16:24
He had a strange mother.
Are psychopaths made or born?
i know this guy ,he went to this party and things got ugly and a girl got raped and murdered.
he had no part of it, as he was comatosed at the time on rum.
when it all went to court he made a volunteer appearence and told the judge that he was there and even though he took no part in it,he was still there and he was just as guilty as the guys who done it.
he didnt go to jail ,which would've been better,he got sent to the nut house .
he had all the crazy medication tested on him.lab rat for carrington in the 70s.
now he is as crazy as can be.they convinced him he was crazy and thats how he is today.
even though he's the most placid ,non violent laid back guy,thers still the talking to people who aint there,the talking maori when he cant talk maori,in a way i think some are made.
but still he is a awesome guy,was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
the family of the young girl, were actually the ones who got him out of the psychiatric ward
Possessed
09-06-2006, 16:31
is catch 22 any good? ive always wanted to read it but havent got round to it as ive never met anyone who has who can tell me if its worth it, lol
im currently reading executive orders by tom clancy, pretty good so far
Catch 22 can be hard to get into but if you stick to it Yassario is so awesome
I need to read Catch 22 again. It was the shiz when I last read it, and I have no doubt it will be even better now I'm older.
I really need to finish reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy. How can I call myself a geek without having even finished these milestone books? I am ashamed.
Catch 22 can be hard to get into but if you stick to it Yassario is so awesome
well im sold, gonna be my next read!
The Acid House - Irvine Welsh
The Dice Man - Luke Rhinehart
well im sold, gonna be my next read!
Joseph Heller, the author of Catch 22 was the model for the main character Yossarian.
He flew as a bombadier on B 26 missions into northern Italy and France. Although there was no enemy air defence, the flak was lethal. He was lucky to survive the war.
Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Stephen Levy and The Hackers Dictionary/ The Jargon File (http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/). An interesting and revealing background on computing in the both of them, though the jargon file is essentially a geek dictionary.
Deaths Men - by Denis Winter
non-fiction about ww1
Power of One
Tandia
Both about Apartheid in South Africa.
Most people will know of the first as a movie, the second follows a young girl and her life before tying in with characters from the first book. Both very good reads. :)
DarkSidE
20-09-2006, 21:27
Like tiger Said Tom Clancy's books Rainbows Six - Awesome
Also Gary Paulsen - hatchet Series
Actually i've read all of his books i think
qwerty4me
25-09-2006, 23:31
The Sacred Balance - David Suzuki
Read about half of it now, awesome stuff.
Simon_NZ
26-09-2006, 22:04
The life and adventures of ThunderBolt Kid
Bill Bryson
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,1658,5232804,00.jpg
Really Really funny
chronicals of thomas convant unbeliever and white gold wielder...hate the main character lol..but a wicked book (set) better than tolkien i think
Simon_NZ
28-09-2006, 19:15
Papillon
Papillon is a memoir by Henri Charričre. It was published in 1970, 25 years after the events of the book. It was translated into English from the original French by author Patrick O'Brian. It has been described as an autobiographical novel or a fictional novel by critics, but Charričre always maintained that the account was accurate and true. The book's title is Charričre's nickname, derived from a butterfly tattoo on his chest (papillon being the French word for butterfly).
The book accounts for a thirteen year period in Charričre's life (October 26, 1932 to October 18, 1945) from when he was wrongly convicted of murder in France and sentenced to a life of hard labor in the French Guiana penal colony, to when he was released from a Venezuelan prison, free of French justice.
ThaFleastyler
29-09-2006, 10:57
Recently finished "Faster" by James Gleick.
Pretty interesting look at the acceleration of human activity (ie shortened stays in jobs, speeding up of technology, shortcuts taken like advancements in the kitchen - microwaves and so on) and examines the psychological aspects of those things.
I'd give it a 8 out of 10.
Also, I read 2 books by Malcolm Gladwell this year - "The Tipping Point" and "Blink: The Art of Thinking Without Thinking" - I would give both these books 10 out of 10 and recommend them. I've also read Bryson this year, but other guys have discussed those. At the moment, I'm reading a book called "Body Piercing Saved My Life: Inside the Phenomenon of Christian Rock" by Spin journalist Andrew Beaujon. Its a pretty interesting look at the subculture of Christian music, and why it is how it is.
Gates of Fire - 300 spartans vs 1 million persians. awesome read
dont start wheel of time 1st 5 books are awesome then it drags badly.
A song of Ice and Fire series is good
Enders Game. Forever War. The Nights Dawn trilogy.
And david gemmel are short good fantasy reads. Waylander being my fav
gray_man
07-11-2006, 01:44
what he said^^ + Anything by Orsen Scott Card (my favourite auther)
If your a vivid fantasy fan give wheel of time a go, the story line and world its set in is amazing but as is stated above the auther looses his way...
ahhh been so long since i was a bookwork, gaming took over all my time, im gonna (going to) start on first post and read my way down.
Hopeless
12-11-2006, 22:59
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. about aussie convict who escapes maximum security prison and flees to nz then makes it to india. good book based on a true story
smegmacheese
15-11-2006, 16:40
The latest installment of his discworld series. Follows exploits of Ankh Morpork watch, so all favorite characters back....Carrot, Angua, Vimes, Detritus, Vetinari, Nobbs, Colon..
RANGIHEREMIA
22-11-2006, 12:52
Marvel Civil War #1-#5 Seven Part Series with branches for each character in the marvel universe.
Yes Yes i read graphic novels, since i was about eleven
For those who like a good laugh try Johnny the Homicidal Maniac
Megabyte
16-12-2006, 15:59
Can't believe that you guys haven't mentioned John Grisham novels!
His best is "The Last Juror"
Magician series (raymond e feist)
Nearly all fantasy by gemmell or eddings (good heroic fantasy)
Hell yeah. The Magician series was a wicked read and I've just finished the second book of Gemmel's latest series Troy, which frikken rocks. Unfortunately he passed away earlier in the year, but his wife is finishing the series off from the notes and stuff that he left behind.
AintNoMeInTeam
31-12-2006, 09:43
ive finished the first chronicles of thomas covenant and am onto the second chronicles, loving it sooo much
Zarathrustra
07-01-2007, 20:25
The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse would have to be my all time fav.
Other 10/10's...
The Crying of lot 49 - Thomas Pynchon
Gravity's Rainbow - Thomas Pynchon
On the Road - Jack Kerouac
Cats Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut
Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
Breakfast of Champions - Kurt Vonnegut
Nausea - Sartre
Steppenwolf - Hesse
Siddhartha - Hesse
The Trial - Franz Kafka
Thus Spake Zarathustra - Friedrich Nietzsche
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
Doors of Perception/Heaven and Hell - Aldous Huxley
The Idiot - Fyodor Dostoyevski
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevski
The First Circle - Alexander Solzhenitsyn
There's a lot more I'd recommend, and a lot I've yet to read in my collection... stupid internet/gaming has killed my desire to read. :disappoin
Baldesto
07-01-2007, 21:37
whoa some heavy books there zarathrustra.
a book called journeyman, about marco polo and his travels to mongolia, a nice fat tome so to speak, and a good read.
i also just finished thomas harris 's hannibal rising, and stephen king's lisey's story , but imo neither of these books are their best works.
By Dr Zarkov.
$99 @ Whitcoulls.
At last. His magnificent opus explains the universe and the meaning of life in simple language even the average ICONZ reader can understand.
Religions are ridiculed, myths exploded and old wives tales debunked.
Everything you ever wanted to know about anything and more in this single volume.
Critics acclaimed this tour de force. Here's what they said.
Richard Dawkins: "I couldn't have said it better myself"
Mohommad El Sadr: "It made me question my faith"
George Bush: "I should have read this before I invaded Iraq"
Laurasaur: "There is no god"
The author relaxing at home
private_hell
13-01-2007, 15:31
i heard it got 3 and a half mice out of 4 from the new york times
AshtonSx
14-01-2007, 14:01
If some one hasn't already posted about this book sorry but yeah good book about Steve Wozniak and Apple Co.
Caranmellon
15-01-2007, 11:05
Just finished the Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength). They are surely novels worthy of being read again. I like it when "old" novels are still very actual.
And of course Vergil's Aeneid is a nice story but one hell of a pain in the ass to read in Latin. We spent half a year in Latin class reading the first three books out of six...which means we have 4 months left to finish the other three books before the Latin Final Exam:p
Munc_her
15-01-2007, 18:14
Is that the book with a lot of pictures in it?
TofuEater
15-01-2007, 19:59
Well the summer reading season has just completed and i had a bit of a mixed bag:
A New Zealand Guide to Family Trusts - Martin Hawes
2/5 Probably could have got all the info on the web.
Looking for somewhere to stash the family jewels? This is probably the first place to start, but a bit on the light side for me.
Pension Panic - Gareth Morgan
4/5 As good an NZ writer as you'll find.
An excellent read from the father of the dot.com guru. Morgan tells it like it is and i like the way he tells it.
The Undercover Economist - Tim Harford
3/5 If only for curing my insomnia
Excerpts appeared in the NZ Herald over the holidays and it was enough to get me interested. Economists are likely the dullest people on the planet and though this is heavy reading, it's probably as close as they'll ever come to putting out a "pop culture" guide.
I know you got soul - Jeremy Clarkson
5/5 Sell your children to get it
Got to finish on a high note. The man's a genius, nuff said.
I'm also on the lookout for Strongman: Three score and more which details the history of the Strongman coal mine on the West Coast. I've had a quick look through it seems like it's a good and thorough record.
4/5 Recommended!
Hells bells Tofu.
If that's your summer reading, what do you read when you want some intellectual stimulation?
Same goes for you Zarathusa. Crime and punishment was a one way trip to dreamland for me.
Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper and The Pact were really good reads, I would rate them 4.5 and 4 stars respectively.
I'm nearly through Salem Fall's, I'll post reviews for all 3 when I've finished the last one.
Fountains of Paradise and Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clarke
Awesome books if you are into sci fi things.
DooleysMagic
17-01-2007, 11:48
On Food and Cooking- Harold McGee
This guy is a chemist who studies cooking and food, it's a good read, really interesting only a qaurter of the way through though. It comes in really handy and is a must for any hospo workers/chefs and I know there are a few here. The sous chef reccomended it.
GhostOfGallipoli
17-01-2007, 12:43
the world war 2.0 series by aussie author John birmingham....awaesome
he's uop to book three in what looks like at least a six book series
****edit...although wikipedia says im wrong
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_of_Time
With all the threads around these days about getting drunk, awful movies and re-instating the death penalty I thought we'd noisy on long to a quite place....my favourite books. Heres a couple....
Chuck Palahniuk - Lullaby
Bizzare story about a journalist who's job it is to report on the mysterious influx of babies/children dieing in their beds, only to find that the cause of this phenomina is a tribal culling song that has been [accidentally?] published in a 'stories for children' book. Now that he has the secret what will he do with it????
Brett Easton Ellis - Less Than Zero
Another bizzare book.
chriskal55
08-02-2007, 12:28
if your looking for a real good war read try THE THIN RED LINE - by James Jones BTW the movie was shit
if horror your thing then try the NECROSCOPE series of books by Brian Lumley I'm sure they will get the hairs on the back of your neck standing up LOL
(BHP)Clyock
09-02-2007, 01:27
For a good war story you can't go past any of the early Sven Hassel books. Wheels of Terror or The Bloody Road of Death are classic WW2 from the german side. And now nobody laugh but the Biggles books are rather cool also.
TuataraDude
17-02-2007, 15:00
Being a product of the instant gratification generation, I'm not going to look through 5 pages to see if this book is in the list:
E=MC2 by David Boudanis. Brilliant, funny and you'll learn something. Explains in detail what it means, how it came to be and what it has resulted in (not just atom bombs might I add, there are also things like smoke detectors, GPS navigation devices etc.). Read it and you'll be voting to put it on the Whitcoulls Top 100 list. You have the TuataraDude money back guarantee on that*. :thumb:
*Actual money will not be given back. Instead you'll be referred to from here on in as a Philistine.
OneHundredCalib
21-02-2007, 17:09
Alpha Force Series - Chris Ryan
The Increment - Chris Ryan
Tenth Man Down - Chris Ryan
Bravo Two Zero - Andy McNab
Firewall - Andy McNab
Harry Potter
OneHundredCalib
21-02-2007, 17:10
Can't believe that you guys haven't mentioned John Grisham novels!
His best is "The Last Juror"
The Unpainted house
Possessed
16-03-2007, 17:50
Tomorrow, When the War Began, the whole series is a good read, couldn't put the buggers down
Quasikomodo
16-03-2007, 20:57
Annie Prouix- Iconic writer of strange tales from America's outlands. Shipping News, Postcards, etc.
I suppose outlands is very appropriate as she did write Brokeback Mountain!!! lol
But I have always enjoyed Albert Camus and Jean Paul Sartre for their existentialist writings and the underlying view that shit happens and in the end nothing really matters!! Even if that is far too an unemotive way of looking at things!
Munc_her
19-03-2007, 19:55
Anybody here read the story titled 'Rocco'? Bout a guy who goes into a comer and goes on an adventure into some koko land?
joshmaister
20-03-2007, 21:03
Tomorrow, When the War Began, the whole series is a good read, couldn't put the buggers down
lol I just read that book 4 an english novel study. ill have to agree with you that it is a good book though.
Wilbur Smith's follow on to the the greatest book I've ever read, 'Warlock', has been released.
It is called 'The Quest', and is certaintly not the best book of his, but still good enough that I finished the entire second half in one day.
The series follows Taita the Magus and is set in ancient Egypt.
If you want to read the great series they go in this order:
River God
Warlock
The Seventh Scroll (Unlike the others this book is set in the present and is about two historians trying to piece together an ancient puzzle set by Taita)
The Quest
Also, if you like Spartans, Wilbur has another book about some old school Ethiopians with their swords trying to defend there country against invading Italian forces who have tanks and machine guns etc. Called 'Cry Wolf' I think.
Its an epic read, and much like the movie 300.
TofuEater
10-04-2007, 15:40
Hells bells Tofu.
If that's your summer reading, what do you read when you want some intellectual stimulation?
The No-assholes Rule - Robert Sutton
3/5. Punchy headline got me interested, but the book failed to live up to the hype. In fact it's at it's best when it promotes why Assholes are necessary. Get it at the library.
The triumph of the Airheads and the Retreat from Commonsense - Shelley Gare
5/5. If you read no other book (than Jeremy Clarkson) then beg, steal or kick someone in the goolies to get this book. A stunning insight into what's wrong with the world. He's a couple of snippets:
"Posh Beckham claimed she'd never read a book, presumably including her own, an autobiography syndicated for newspaper extract for more than a million pounds. Later, when she scornfully objected - "Of course I've read a book!" - the Spanish journalist who had quoted her, squelched the denials, saying she had Posh on tape"
"We couldn't go through the Door of Miracles unless we gave them 10 percent of our money. So we stopped going" - Jerry Hall on why she and Mick Jagger stopped visiting the celebrity heavy London Kabbalah Centre."
"It is a lie that anti-aging creame will get rid of wrinkles. They won't. You'd be better off buying a good bottle of pinot noir... Tomatoes make you happy. Have you ever met a miserable Italian? They are irritating, but never miserable" - Anita Roddick founder of Body Shop.
private_hell
10-04-2007, 16:52
has anyone every read the book In Cold Blood by Truman Capote?
if so what do they think of it?
has anyone every read the book In Cold Blood by Truman Capote?
if so what do they think of it?
I read it years ago.
It was new genre then but it set a standard that's seldom matched since.
Norman Mailer's Executioners Song is similar and also first rate.
Capote was a literary genius who drank and drugged himself to death and wasted his talent.
private_hell
10-04-2007, 19:15
i know i watched the movie Capote last night - it was a very good movie and am very tempted to try and find a copy of hte book and read it for myself
MegaGoater
10-04-2007, 20:29
For a good war story you can't go past any of the early Sven Hassel books. Wheels of Terror or The Bloody Road of Death are classic WW2 from the german side. And now nobody laugh but the Biggles books are rather cool also.
I completely 2nd that, i've read about 10 or so of his books, and while they are all fairly similar, they are some of the best reads i've had. Each time i've had a new one, i've read it hat night i got it in bed :P
Stalingrad and Berlin by Antony Bevor for you ww2 history buffs is a must, expecially stalingrad.
The Dark tower series by Stephen King (7 books) is an absolutely fantastic read, i would place it alongside tolkeins books, or very near to them anyway. A SERIOUS must for any fantasy/adventure reader.
The Haj and Mila 18 by Leon Uris for those interested in 20th century Jewish themes.
And this goes without saying, But the 6 Dune books by Frank Herbert, followed up by the 3 "prequels" written by his son Brian Herbert.
Any many more that i cna't think of right now :P
Jolly Roger
20-06-2007, 21:25
how about this for a joke its only funny when ur laughing at the persion its geting done tohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O78iwsSDZ10
What a stupid fucking video, that first guy was using a lawnmover, I wonder if they'd put that on Youtube if it had all gone horribly wrong.
Back on topic:
Just finished Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad,
It was a good book, bit slow but definitely worth the read, it'd be interesting to write an essay on it.
I'd recommend it to everyone.
DEATH0WL
20-06-2007, 21:41
I'm reading
The Stand by Stephen King
It's amazingly good but long as hell (1400 pages in a font size similar to this. Still a good book but seeking out the older version which has 400 pages cut out probably wouldn't hurt.
I'm reading
The Stand by Stephen King
It's amazingly good but long as hell (1400 pages in a font size similar to this. Still a good book but seeking out the older version which has 400 pages cut out probably wouldn't hurt.
Read the full version mate, the cut version gets rid of some of the fill in stuff, but its all good reading.
I highly recommend "IT" as well, id say his best books are IT, The Stand and Insomnia. He has some classics too like Carrie, Misery, Pet Cemetry etc. And his 3 Bachman books are a good read too. I havent read much of his newer stuff, but i own alot of his older stuff, would be 1 of my fav authors.
And on a side note, I just finished reading Marc Ellis's book, was a suprisngly good light hearted read. Hes a very clever man, though he might not act it. I wasnt actually looking forward to reading it, but it was given to me so i thought i would make an effort, im glad i did. So if anyone ever offers for you to have/borrow etc, its worth it.
Murray Walker.
Autobiography.
Been reading this off and on over the last few months and have gone from being irritated by the man to a bit of a fan. [maybe because I don't have to listen to him anymore]
He comes accross as being a real good guy, not afraid to make fun of himself. It's entertaining to read and outright funny in parts.
And what a life he led. Worked up to a fairly senior position in an ad agency while commentating on motorsport of all types. Almost 30 years of following the formula 1 circus around the world, mixing with the best that's ever been.
Good read, I enjoyed it.
ThaFleastyler
14-07-2007, 22:03
Woah, forgot about this thread!
Further to Deathowls post above, I can also recommend Cell by Stephen King; one of only 2 books of his that I finished, the other being The Stand. Cell is about a 'pulse' that is sent out via cellular networks which infects anyone who hears it - very fast paced, gory book, with some interesting theories on the human brain wrapped in behind the story.
And I agree with relworG - you gotta read the full version of The Stand rather than the cut version. Its just better.
And Murray Walker :rnr:
I liked at the.. Aussie F1Gp I think it was Murray went upto Bernie Ecclestone (main man behind F1) and Bernie said to him 'What are you doing here?' Looked as if he hardly even knew who he was.
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini.
The Life of Pi - Yann Martel.
Both fantastic, and completely random picks I made at borders.
Virtuality
20-08-2007, 14:24
The Power of One
Tandia (AFTER the power of one, it continues on)
Jessica
Anything else by Bryce Courtenay (above are all his), best author of this century without a doubt.
Across the Nightingale Floor
Grass for His Pillow
Brilliance of the Moon
The Harsh Cry of the Heron
^ The most amazing series I've ever read, and I've read a lot, speaking of which I need to go to a library to get them all out... all over again. I've never read the fourth but these books are in a league of their own. All written by Lian Hearn.
Avoid Dean Koontz, his way of building "suspension" is by dragging the story on and on (he opens the door, theres nothing there, he opens another door, theres nothing there, he opens a third door, and oh wait, nevermind, nothing there either, oh look, a corpse behind the next door, except you've already closed the book)
Theres also The Dog Crusoe, and Martin Rattler I remember were great books, I'm sure at least one was by R.M Ballantyne or something. Very old books commonly found at second hand stores, although I'm sure you can still purchase them new.
Best Books IMO
The Deed of Paksenarrion - Elizabeth Moon (all her other books are crap)
The Magician - Raymond Feist (I have about six different versions of this book, the others in the various series are OK but get boring quick)
Endless Night - Richard Laymon (most of his other books are good too)
Outlearning the Wolves - David Hutchens (business strategy books similar to 'who moved my cheese' but much better)
Good Omens - Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman (both these guys have other books that are pretty good, but this is the best)
sacredpossum
20-09-2007, 16:36
love pretty much anything by Stephen King, in particular, Gerald's game
other good books - to kill a mocking bird by harper lee, Jurassic park by Michael Crichton, um and books by Patricia Cornwell and Dean Koontz are pretty cool.
RetardoBot
20-09-2007, 16:41
Paddy Clarke - Ha ha ha. - Roddy Doyle.
Some months ago, I was told of a book that I've forgotten the title and author of. If anyone can help me it'd be great.
The book was an auto-biography of a man who served in Vietnam and detailed some of the operations and missions he undertook and the effect they had on his life.
Included things like beating, burning and pillaging, murder and such, and then something like use of drugs and alcohol to try and mask the pain and mental distress.
If anyone has any idea about what it may be called, or who it's by, I'd be very thankful if they could post here or PM me.
urbaninja
30-10-2007, 17:22
Most books by Matthew Reilly are pretty good. I'm currently reading SCARECROW atm, just finished Area 7 before.
Baldesto
30-10-2007, 18:16
Some months ago, I was told of a book that I've forgotten the title and author of. If anyone can help me it'd be great.
The book was an auto-biography of a man who served in Vietnam and detailed some of the operations and missions he undertook and the effect they had on his life.
Included things like beating, burning and pillaging, murder and such, and then something like use of drugs and alcohol to try and mask the pain and mental distress.
If anyone has any idea about what it may be called, or who it's by, I'd be very thankful if they could post here or PM me.
chickenhawk?
chickenhawk?
Nah, that's more about a pilot - everything you ever needed to know about flying a Huey.
Once a Warrior King might have been closer.
ObNewBook: the WW2.1 series by John Birmingham; Weapons of Choice, Designated Targets and Final Impact. Brilliantly written Future/Past what if series. BF2 meets BF1942 in a book.
If you've seen 'The Philidelphia Experiment', it follows similar lines, but really quite well written.
qwerty4me
10-11-2007, 10:23
Vacuum Diagrams by Stephen Baxter.
http://www.amazon.com/Vacuum-Diagrams-Stephen-Baxter/dp/0061059048/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194643409&sr=8-1
Buy it. Buy it now.
Possessed
10-11-2007, 14:17
A Monk Swimming
Malachy McCourt
autobiography about an irish dude i'd never even heard of that became quite famous in the states
excellent book
HunHunter
10-11-2007, 14:27
Reading 'Eight lives down' atm
great new release about a British bomb disposal guys tour in Basra.
Kopfjaeger
14-11-2007, 10:35
'Devils Guard' by George Robert Elford
Non Fiction about a group of Waffen SS mercenaries who escaped from Europe at the end of WW2, join the Foreign Legion and were sent to Indo China to die.
Good luck finding a copy.
Has anyone said harry potter? because whoever has deserves their ability to read to be provoked. Harry Potter is NOT well written, every book is the same.
BaronMan
14-11-2007, 11:17
Wilbur Smith's follow on to the the greatest book I've ever read, 'Warlock', has been released.
It is called 'The Quest', and is certaintly not the best book of his, but still good enough that I finished the entire second half in one day.
holy crap! just seen this - must read!
Deathowl the Stand is Stephen kings best book :) you like it? Theres a mini series done about it that you should not watch if you've read the book.
[SK]GenieNZ
22-11-2007, 14:46
Just finished one of the best books I've ever read....
Eight lives down by Chris Hunter.
He was a british bomb disposal operator in Iraq.
Very powerful, very up front.
Don't read it if you are easily offended by bad language.
Quite abit of technical weaponery stuff in it but great for dummies like me, it has a glossary in the back.
Ngati_Grim
27-11-2007, 10:05
'The Book of Black Magic'. A.E. Waite, privately printed, 1898. What it says in the title, great illustrations, interesting read (don't buy it myself, but still interesting) 8/10
'Monkey'. Wu Ch'eng-En. The original, upon which the classic programme was based. Has all the characters but a much better narrative. 8/10
'Trilobite'. Richard Fortey. About Trilobites. 9/10
'A Dictionary of Plant Names'. William T. Stearn. A must have if etymology and plants are your thing. 7/10
'Tropic of Cancer/Capricorn'. Henry Miller. Great, sometimes dirty stream of consciousness novel-cum-autobiography-cum musings. 10/10
'The Collector'. John Fowles. A sicko collects a girl from a school anbd keeps her prisoner. 9/10
'The Magus'. John Fowles. Bloody brilliant majestic work set in the Greek Islands. 11/10
woofnstuff
27-11-2007, 10:14
This is my Fav author, Iain Banks
he does epic Sci Fi, and some really interesting non sci fi fiction
his most twisted book, "The Wasp Factory"
his most funny, "Espedair Street"
his best Sci Fi "Consider Phlebas" this is a space opera, its a massive story, really good reading if you like a hard core sci fi
also the "crow road" is good read too, any book that starts off
"it all began the day my grandmother exploded"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iain_Banks
Ngati_Grim
27-11-2007, 11:01
Iain Banks is good.
'The Wasp Factory' is a great read
AvatarFACE
27-11-2007, 17:59
Anything by Matthew Reilly.
qwerty4me
26-12-2007, 20:47
The Adventures of Jonathan Gulible - Ken Schoolland. Its meant for young teens, but lots of adults read it. Also, I'm reading it in a language I have only just learnt, so I decided its a good thing to start on. Its a book with libertarian motives, and is good to show people the dangers of a statist/communist society (where NZ is heading). Its very cleverly written, I reccomend it to everyone with an interest in politics, for supporters of individual freedom to admire, or for statists/communists to ridicule. Here is the english version you can read online:
http://www.namyth.com/jg/?chp=1
Read up to chapter two, it will really get you thinking!
Grass - by sheri s tepper - no it's about a plague...not the other stuff
http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=3mUNAAAACAAJ&dq=grass
.
cata|yst
27-12-2007, 17:03
Robert Jordans 'The Wheel of time'
awesome series, im sure its been posted in here before but o well
ploppy slow
29-12-2007, 09:52
Iain Banks is good.
'The Wasp Factory' is a great read
Still gives me the creeps when i think of the sheep!!!
This is my Fav author, Iain Banks
he does epic Sci Fi, and some really interesting non sci fi fiction
his most twisted book, "The Wasp Factory"
his most funny, "Espedair Street"
his best Sci Fi "Consider Phlebas" this is a space opera, its a massive story, really good reading if you like a hard core sci fi
also the "crow road" is good read too, any book that starts off
"it all began the day my grandmother exploded"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iain_Banks
If you haven't read anything by Peter F Hamilton then I strongly urge you to make your way through the Night's Dawn trilogy or the Commonwealth duo. They are truly incredible in terms of scope and detail. If you like epic space operas and you haven't read them then you're doing yourself a disservice.
Possessed
29-12-2007, 10:36
If you haven't read anything by Peter F Hamilton then I strongly urge you to make your way through the Night's Dawn trilogy or the Commonwealth duo. They are truly incredible in terms of scope and detail. If you like epic space operas and you haven't read them then you're doing yourself a disservice.
WORD!! big time and +rep even!
urbaninja
29-12-2007, 10:50
Anything by Matthew Reilly.
Yea I said I was reading his books a few pages back. They're good aye? I still don't like his first one "Contest".
scopemaster
30-12-2007, 22:49
Yea I said I was reading his books a few pages back. They're good aye? I still don't like his first one "Contest".
Yeah, contest was his worst, but it's Matthews favourite :s. I suppose he did start his career with it.
I've read them all, including his charity novelette (or whatever you call it), Hell Island and the new one, six sacred stones.
All I can say about six sacred stones is that he better be able to write fast -.- . Cause I'm going to be emailing him in a few months to ask where the sequel is :cussing: .
What the hell? Mathew Reilly is an idiot. I read his book Ice Station and his short story Hell Island. He is a bit of fun, but his books aren't even close to being in the same league as that of Tom Clancy for example. They're imaginative, but they are gratuitously violent and pretty simple. Well at least Ice Station was. I certainly had a laugh at the mutant seals for example.
I'm reading the original Dune Trilogy at the moment by Frank Herbert. I read a prequel trilogy written by his son, Brian Herbert, last year and goddamn loved them: The Butlerian Jihad, The Machine Crudsade and The Battle of Corrin. In my opinion they surpass the original works. You read how the feud between Atreides and Harkonnen begin, how the space guild gain their monopoly over space travel and the relationship between shields and lazers. The original Dune, however, is excellent. Its complexity is fantastic.
The other books that I just read were the Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman. Oh My God. Childrens Books my Ass. Highly recommended to everyone, but to fantasy readers and people who are interested in different religious ideals in particular.
cata|yst
31-12-2007, 11:37
The other books that I just read were the Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman. Oh My God. Childrens Books my Ass. Highly recommended to everyone, but to fantasy readers and people who are interested in different religious ideals in particular.
what is it about again ?? i recognize the name an think i might have read it a while ago
might wanna spoiler it too
Robert Jordans 'The Wheel of time'
awesome series, im sure its been posted in here before but o well
I agree with you, most will not as they think the series has dragged on too long.
Robert Jordan died in September so it looked like we would never get to see the 12th and final chapter, but the publisher just confirmed that they have a new author who i never heard of to finish it all off, probably released in spring 2009.
Ref. http://www.tor-forge.com/NewsArticle.aspx?articleId=647
Oh well off to the beach for new years piss up i guess...
qwerty4me
01-01-2008, 21:10
Oh, and two more reccomendations:
Foundation by Isaac Asimov. Best sci-fi novel ever written. Enough said.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Foundation-Isaac-Asimov/dp/0586010807
And, this isn't a novel, but a teach-yourself-textbook. It probably won't appeal to many people here. BUT if you, like me, don't have a degree is astrophysics, but want to start learning about cosmology on a more advanced scale than pop-science books (Brief History of Time..), then get this. It uses maths (very basic maths, only single variable algebra, no polynomials, and also trigonometery. If you know how to do vector diagrams from high school physics, it helps, but is not neccessary), so you actually understand how the universe works, not just scientists trying to use metaphores for a 'gee whiz!' approach. In other words: get this if you want to move beyond pop science, no matter how intelligent you are.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gravity-Ground-Up-Introductory-Relativity/dp/0521455065/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199174981&sr=1-1
urbaninja
04-01-2008, 16:07
Yeah, contest was his worst, but it's Matthews favourite :s. I suppose he did start his career with it.
I've read them all, including his charity novelette (or whatever you call it), Hell Island and the new one, six sacred stones.
All I can say about six sacred stones is that he better be able to write fast -.- . Cause I'm going to be emailing him in a few months to ask where the sequel is :cussing: .
Yea I read Hell Island to. I love all his books apart from Contest. Yea I agree, how the hell could he do what he did with Six Sacred Stones at the end. However I still can't wait for the sequel to come out.
Guy Sayer.
Definitive tale of a German infantryman on the Russian front.
Well worth reading for anyone with an interest in the subject.
punksucks
28-01-2008, 21:45
Harry Turtledove - The Great War series...
Science fiction/ based on a rewrite of history where the South managed to win against the North in the battle that decided if the Confederate States would get English and French diplomatic support. Goes into World War 1, the Depression which followed, the Rise of Fascism, Workers Rights, Socialism etc. Has a variety of characters which takes accounts from their viewpoints. I highly recommend to anyone who is into world war 1 and 2 and that period of history and wants to read something different.
http://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/delreyad1.gif
For the non-fiction fans:
Stoned on Duty - Need I explain? An insight into the life of kiwi Policeman Undercover.
The Worlds Worst Weapons - Martin J Dougherty. Small book on the most laughable weapons which would make any noob feel l33t.
liquidpain
08-02-2008, 00:09
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TofuEater
08-02-2008, 08:04
By Steve Williams.
Go inside the mind of the world's greatest golf caddy to learn mental secrets of success. Well written, it's easily the best golf book i've read.
5/5.
Dont know if its been mentioned, cant be arsed searching but
Night after Night by Max Lambert
New Zealanders in Bomber Command
Excellent read. 6000 NZer's flew in bomber command over 1850 never returned. This book is a tribute. A must for the War buff....
HunHunter
16-03-2008, 07:19
Pacific Wrecks, Charles Darby
Histories and Locations of WW2 aircraft wrecks across the Pacfic.
Its on Amazon from US$174 to $500..I Picked up a copy for $18, I love you trademe
The Dreamtime Voyage (1994)
by Paul Caffyn
To paddle around Australia’s 9,500-mile perimeter using muscle power alone is an unimaginable feat. There are vast areas of extremely inhospitable coast, including desert, cliffs and mangrove swamps, not to mention sharks and crocodiles. The narrative is a blend of history, hair-raising moments and descriptions of the harshness and beauty of Australia. Caffyn achieved the circumnavigation paddling for four months solo with his support vehicle–driver Lesley sharing the highs and the lows for the duration. The book is not only about the kayaker, his boat and his driver-partner—it’s about history, personal development and conflict. Illustrated with stunning full-color photography, Dreamtime Voyage is an epic. Caffyn also wrote Obscured by Waves (1979), describing his circumnavigation of New Zealand’s South Island; Cresting the Restless Waves (1987), about paddling 1,700 miles around the coast of the North Island of New Zealand; and Dark Side of the Wave (1986), a gripping account of a circumnavigation of Stewart Island—New Zealand’s southernmost island.
Managed to find a copy on trademe.
Best kayak book ever.
The Rum Diary - Hunter S. Thompson
qwerty4me
16-03-2008, 11:00
Time for a few additions to the list:
'Voyage' by Stephen Baxter... about the (fictional) journey to mars during the 80s! Scientifically acurate. We could of been there 20 years ago...
http://www.amazon.com/Voyage-Stephen-Baxter/dp/0061052582
(the NZ/UK version has a way cooler cover)
'Atlas Shrugged' by Ayn Rand... can't believe I haven't mentioned this so far. It's long, but it's the best book ever. Makes you proud to be a human. If you have had enough of 'great books' being about how flawed and degraded man is, you will love this.
http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Shrugged-Ayn-Rand/dp/0452011876/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205618287&sr=1-1
Bounty Hunter
16-03-2008, 20:49
reading the bourne identity atm
but i was gonna ask in this thread, anyone read any classic litreture? like tale of 2 citys, 10,000 leagues under the sea, tresure island and the count of monte cristo?
i know basically how these stories go as ive seen them bastardised by the likes of the simpsons and not so bastardised by the muppets, but never actually read them.
reading the bourne identity atm
but i was gonna ask in this thread, anyone read any classic litreture? like tale of 2 citys, 10,000 leagues under the sea, tresure island and the count of monte cristo?
I've read Treasure Island, tbh the movie and bastardised versions are better.
I would have read Monte Cristo but it was written by a Dumbarse.
doberman-08
07-04-2008, 20:07
House to House by David Bellavia (Ex US Infantry Staff Sergeant) Battle for Fallujah 2004. One helluva read, graphic descriptions of house to house fighting etc.
First Light by Geoffery Wellum. RAF Spitfire pilot who flew in the Battle of Britain and later at Malta.
both are eye openers
frankytanky
09-04-2008, 13:09
^^ House to house, easily one of the best iraq esq books i have read.
a couple I have read in the last 2 months.......
Just finished A book by Colby Buzzel called "My War: killing time in Iraq" which was quite good also, from bum to soldier, then his take on the war. He was made famous by a daily blog he posted which elevated him to star status on the net, and inadvertantly got him in the shit with the superiours. A good read, not your typical Iraq shoot em up.
Johnsen Beharry : Barefoot soldier autobiography about a VC hero. kinda boring in the middle but ostly a good read.
Killer Elite: The Inside Story of America's Most Secret Special Operations, (micheal smith) book about a top secret group know as the activity and how they formed to coordinate most of the worlds spec ops groups to be able to work together. Operations include, Tehran hostage situation, Beruit, Bosnia, Pablo Escabar, the hunt for bin Laden in Afgan and the capture of Saddam. Not a war book, more of a book that delves into how the operations were run intellegance wise. a good read.
Devils teeth, susan casey (currently reading) about hte massive 15-20 ft sharks that cruise around the farallon Islands outside san fransisco and how they are studied, sounds boring but is actually kinda interesting, especially if you google images of these sharks, they are seriously massive!
thats all for now....
norwegiankiwi
09-04-2008, 13:40
not sure what's been posted here, but I'll give it a go.
My top 5 :)
Joseph Heller - Catch 22
Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist
Carlos Ruiz Zafón - The Shadow of the Wind
Robert McChesney - Rich Media Poor Democracy
Noam Chomsky - Manufacturing Consent
Dr_Woohoo
09-04-2008, 13:54
Currently Reading Iain M banks latest Culture novel "matter" - feckin brilliant
doberman-08
09-04-2008, 19:04
^^ House to house, easily one of the best iraq esq books i have read.
a couple I have read in the last 2 months.......
Just finished A book by Colby Buzzel called "My War: killing time in Iraq" which was quite good also, from bum to soldier, then his take on the war. He was made famous by a daily blog he posted which elevated him to star status on the net, and inadvertantly got him in the shit with the superiours. A good read, not your typical Iraq shoot em up.
Johnsen Beharry : Barefoot soldier autobiography about a VC hero. kinda boring in the middle but ostly a good read.
Killer Elite: The Inside Story of America's Most Secret Special Operations, (micheal smith) book about a top secret group know as the activity and how they formed to coordinate most of the worlds spec ops groups to be able to work together. Operations include, Tehran hostage situation, Beruit, Bosnia, Pablo Escabar, the hunt for bin Laden in Afgan and the capture of Saddam. Not a war book, more of a book that delves into how the operations were run intellegance wise. a good read.
Devils teeth, susan casey (currently reading) about hte massive 15-20 ft sharks that cruise around the farallon Islands outside san fransisco and how they are studied, sounds boring but is actually kinda interesting, especially if you google images of these sharks, they are seriously massive!
thats all for now....
I have the Johnson Beharry book and agree it gets a little tedious but the others you mention I have not seen yet so I will go into town on Friday night for a look.
I have also read Bravo 2 Zero- the Kiwi SAS soldier in the British SAS, in thew first Iraq incursion. An excellent read and real eye opener into archaic thought in the British Military.
Have been wondering about the new one on the shelf about Blackwater Security Consulting-the private army, the US employ in Iraq now.
Cheers
Al:)
Ngati_Grim
10-04-2008, 14:24
Have just started:
"Atheist Universe. The Thinking Person's Answer to Christian Fundamentalism" By David Mills.
Interesting, and gives me more fuel for the fire in another thread lol
and
"Your Inner Fish. A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body" By Neil Shubin.
For some reason, I like to have more than one book on the go.
Oh, and I'm also reading: "Deception Point" By Dan Brown.
Good for relaxation, if not much else!
AvatarFACE
10-04-2008, 21:54
Any Matthew Reilly book, with a special mention to Ice Station and Temple.
Robert Ludlum books are good too, (not The Tristan Betrayal though).
the Covert One series is pretty good.
HunHunter
11-04-2008, 21:45
Finally got hold of 'Chickenhawk'
wow...it holds no punches in telling the reader what it was like flying choppers in vietnam from the off loading of grunts in the afternoon to bring them back in several pieces the next day.
doberman-08
12-04-2008, 08:23
I read some excerpts from Chickenhawk on Sunday at the UBS in Dunedin and was impressed and your review means i better go back and purchase it tomorrow
Kopfjaeger
12-04-2008, 13:26
+1 for ChickenHawk, i usually reread it every year .
Matthew Reilly: Ice Station, Area 7, Scarecrow and Temple have all been awesome so far, good action writer. reading Seven Ancient Wonders Now, seems good so far.
DeeVeeOss
02-05-2008, 08:05
Finally got hold of 'Chickenhawk'
wow...it holds no punches in telling the reader what it was like flying choppers in vietnam from the off loading of grunts in the afternoon to bring them back in several pieces the next day.
Is that the one about the guy in the Air Cav?
doberman-08
05-05-2008, 21:10
reading the bourne identity atm
but i was gonna ask in this thread, anyone read any classic litreture? like tale of 2 citys, 10,000 leagues under the sea, tresure island and the count of monte cristo?
i know basically how these stories go as ive seen them bastardised by the likes of the simpsons and not so bastardised by the muppets, but never actually read them.
I had Treasure Island given to me for my 9th birthday in 1968 and have read it 5X. I read Oliver Twist for a school book review in the 1960's, but it was very tough going and haven't read any more of Dickens's works since. Tried War and Peace by Tolstoy, that was even worse than reading Social Anthro text books on Structuralism and Functionalism. I am reading Chickenhawk by Robert Mason at the moment; far easier to read.
Crime and punishment.
Tolstoy.
Sure cure for insomnia.
Just finished reading Spartan: a novel by Valerio Massimo Manfredi.
He's an Italian author, I think his wife translates his books. He wrote The Last Legion which was good too and the Alexander Trilogy which I haven't got round to reading yet.
frankytanky
06-06-2008, 12:53
Just finished reading the Book about a top ranked military sniper called Jack Coughlin and his trials to unleach a new age snipers docterine to the modern battlefield. mobile sniper strike forces. throughly good read, I put it up there with house to house, for entertainment value. although typical of modern warefarre books is that he focus's alot of attention on waiting for the action (which i suppose is enivadible)
http://www.shooterbook.com/
I have just started Scar Tissue by anthony keidis (RHCP)(I am sure someone has already posted about this on th forum) which I am throughly enjoying, not a typical up bringing for a kid to say the least!
I have also brought a copy of chicken hawk which I am also really looking forward to thatnks to the reviews above this post.
Book depository ftw! free shipping from the uk and books for about 5 pound!
That book about the sniper sounds good, I may have to look it up. Always had a romantic notion about snipers, I find their craft and methods fascinating.
I just finished reading a fantastic non-fiction book called Call of the Wild by Guy Grieve. It's about a 30 something scotsman who works in a mundane mind numbing office job, has a wife and two babies, and just can't shake the feeling he's got to get the hell out of there. His wife reluctantly agrees and he just takes off for about 10 months and lives in the Alaskan interion by the yukon river. He builds his own full on log cabin during autumn with the help and knowledge passed onto him by some great locals. It's his story, an unassuming humble average guy, and how he found himself and inner piece and self worth by surviving in one of earth's most brutal climates, where it was down around -40 celcius. It really touched a chord with me and I was riveted, and very sad when it ended, which I guess is the mark of a great story.
Kopfjaeger
06-06-2008, 16:38
-40 is not fun ,especially if you have go out and work in it.
Not sure if anyone has mentioned Antony Beevors books, Stalingrad and Berlin ? Both excellent reads for students of WWII.
For those interested in the history of Snipers, 'Sniper One on One by Adrian Gilbert and read about the legendary Gunnery Sergeant Carlos N. Hathcock.
frankytanky
06-06-2008, 17:13
Call of the wild sounds good, I like the ideas that you commented about. I am really enjoying reading non fiction atm, i like learning others experiences but it kinda makes me feel like there is so much more than what I am doing, if only i was more motivated......
'The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved' - First Article written in the Gonzo style by Hunter S. Thompson
Iv been re-reading 'According to the Rolling Stones' too lately, which is pretty much their history retold by them word for word with incut articles by people who helped them get started (Ahmet Ertegün, Georgio Gomelsky etc.)
qwerty4me
06-06-2008, 20:36
The Case For Mars (http://www.amazon.com/Case-Mars-Plan-Settle-Planet/dp/0684835509/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212741274&sr=1-1) by Robert Zubrin
Although over a decade old, still very applicable. Even more so now, that we at least have America, Europe and China talking about Mars missions soon. Bloody exciting, to be honest.
doberman-08
19-06-2008, 19:35
Have just about finished Generation Kill by Evan Wright - a remakable insight into the marines life during the Invasion of Iraq. Sean Naylor's Not A Good Day To Die and Tom Johnson's To The Limit are both great reads. The first is about Operation Anaconda and the first major battle of the Twenty First Century 200 Soldiers of the 101st Airborne and 10th Mt Division are air dropped into Afghanistan's Shahikot Valley right into a pitched battle.
The second is about an Air Cav Huey pilot in Vietnam from 1967 - 68 accumulating 1600hrs flying the huey
frankytanky
27-06-2008, 11:25
Since my last post, I have read ChickenHawk, as suggested above, wow! that is a great story to say the least.
Also I have just finished The Cage, by Tom Abraham, a story about an englishman who joined the US army becomming a 2nd leuitenant. It tells of the normal everyday grind and events, quite graphic places much like chickenhawk.
The big catch of the story is that he is captured and tourtured by the VC and kept in a small cage which is almost entirely submerged in a bomb crater filled with water from which he escapes to freedom. The strange thing is that he tells noone about his ordeal (obviously the army knows as there were debreifings etc) his wife, friends and family however, are none the wiser. Thirty two years later he has a bad run in with an overzelous policeman, and ends up getting thrwn in a dog cage in the back of the paddy wagon, you can imagine the memories that come flooding back, which leads to his life spiriling out of control until the truth eventually comes out.
I am now moving onto the mammoth book of war stories!
Anyone else got any vietnam/iraq book that they could recommend?
Also is there a sequal to chickenhawk? the guy at witcoules told me robert mason had another book?
Since my last post, I have read ChickenHawk, as suggested above, wow! that is a great story to say the least.
Also I have just finished The Cage, by Tom Abraham, a story about an englishman who joined the US army becomming a 2nd leuitenant. It tells of the normal everyday grind and events, quite graphic places much like chickenhawk.
The big catch of the story is that he is captured and tourtured by the VC and kept in a small cage which is almost entirely submerged in a bomb crater filled with water from which he escapes to freedom. The strange thing is that he tells noone about his ordeal (obviously the army knows as there were debreifings etc) his wife, friends and family however, are none the wiser. Thirty two years later he has a bad run in with an overzelous policeman, and ends up getting thrwn in a dog cage in the back of the paddy wagon, you can imagine the memories that come flooding back, which leads to his life spiriling out of control until the truth eventually comes out.
I am now moving onto the mammoth book of war stories!
Anyone else got any vietnam/iraq book that they could recommend?
Also is there a sequal to chickenhawk? the guy at witcoules told me robert mason had another book?
Can't remember if I've mentioned it, but 'Once a Warrior King' is a pretty good account of a Special Forces team training back country hill tribesmen in Vietnam.
Natch the one for the Iraq/Gulf war conflict is Jarhead. I thought the book was considerably better than the movie.
Tomorrow, When the War Began, the whole series is a good read, couldn't put the buggers down
Awesome series :thumb:
frankytanky
23-08-2008, 09:53
The mammoth book of war stories, quite a good read, obviously containing snippets from varies battles from when battle history could be recorded, ie/ battle of troy right up into the last Iraq war.
What I did enjoy was reading stories delivered by "the other side", or "the bad guys"! Particularly interesting was the story told by a germen tank ace in ww2, the commandant at Auschwitz concentration and extermination centre and beauty thearapy (j/ks) camp, as well as a couple of stories about the bataan death march, all which were very interesting and sad to read.
Meanwhile i have got my teeth into a couple more....
5 years to freedom, by James n Rowe, accounts a story of a special forces leuitenant taken as pow where he endures 5 years in less than shit conditions, a must read for the vietnam buff. Rowe fights to keep his fellow captives living as well as throwing in the odd escape attempt, while trying to be reeducated by the NLF. I am finding it a very good read.
The other is a Book called No True Glory: a frontline account of the battle for fallujah, by bing west. I have only read a few chapters, which are very informative. essentially the book starts of with a rundown of how the situation in fallujah escallated (thanks blackwater!), and then turns to the battlefield for on the spot type reports from the ground. Quite good so far, good descriptive (i mean informative not gory!) writing that gives you a clear picture of the clusterfuck that is fallujah.
Crusade, The Untold Story of the Persian Gulf War
Rick Atkinson
HISTORY • 1994 • PAPER • 520 PAGES
An extensive account of the 42-day Persian Gulf War and how it single-handedly transformed modern warfare. Conducting a wide range of interviews, Atkinson blends firsthand stories of both soldiers and policymakers with an exhaustively researched political narrative.
I highly recommend this book by the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist author.
Ride with Atkinson and General Petreus in the Generals Blackhawk through the skies of Iraq and see how the bullshit intelligence from the CIA effected the conduct of the war.
A good read and available from most libraries.
ThumbsUpGuy
27-08-2008, 23:03
On the subject of war books, The German's who Never Lost, the Story of the Konigsberg is pretty good.
princezmia
19-09-2008, 01:29
i am a big fan of Tess Gerritsen. i have read all her books, she is the best medical-crime author, i can read her novel in just one seating..here are some of her books i like best:
1. the harvest
2.Mephisto Club
3. Under the knife
4.the surgeon >> perfect
Anything by Sven Hassel. WW2 Ficticious autobiography stories, Fantastic.
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n24/n123765.jpg
I am looking for some new reading material, usually read the likes of Jack Higgins, Fredrick Forsyth, Collin Forbes, Jeffery Deaver, Patricia Cornwell to name a few.
Any suggestions for a new author to check out?
AvatarFACE
22-09-2008, 18:58
Robert Ludlum is pretty good.
doberman-08
22-09-2008, 19:28
Robert Ludlum is pretty good.
Agreed. It's a shame he died he had an awesome mindset
frankytanky
22-09-2008, 19:34
I have just finished Slash's autobiography, it was pretty mush how I thought it would go! I must say that he comes across well and sounds like he would be a cool guy (if he left Mr Brownstone alone!)
I have just picked up a paperback called " Don't tell mum I work on the rigs :(she thinks I am a piano player in a whorehouse)" My initial impressions are it is a book about a guy with loads of rough stories about the various characters and situations he found himself in. Quite amusing so far!
Killa_Smurf
22-09-2008, 19:49
Once by Morris Gleitzman
Then by Morris Gleitzman
Both easy reads. Set during WW2. Read em to my class.
qwerty4me
22-09-2008, 20:35
Anything by Sven Hassel. WW2 Ficticious autobiography stories, Fantastic.
I'd +rep ya again if I could! I read all those books when I was a kid, but totally forgot I had, until you mentioned the name. Now the memories come flooding back... including asking my mum was a prostitute is hahaha.
I'd +rep ya again if I could! I read all those books when I was a kid, but totally forgot I had, until you mentioned the name. Now the memories come flooding back... including asking my mum was a prostitute is hahaha.
And what was her response?
I'd +rep ya again if I could! I read all those books when I was a kid, but totally forgot I had, until you mentioned the name. Now the memories come flooding back... including asking my mum was a prostitute is hahaha.
I was very surprised Borders have the whole range cause every other place had to order them in, about $25 each. They were tucked away in some bottom shelf corner of the shop.. insult!
If you are after a bit of a laugh, give this a read
Budding Prospects - T.Coraghessan Boyle
Anything by Sven Hassel. WW2 Ficticious autobiography stories, Fantastic.
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n24/n123765.jpg
Funny - am re-reading that for the tenth time at the moment.
Didnt' realise they'd made a movie....
FluzrhWJ1sU
Fireball SBS1, John Kerrigan - Great read!
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n18/n92478.jpg
01-01-00, R. J. Pineiro, - Good read...until the last chapter.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4156NVF92HL._SL500_AA240_.jpg
frankytanky
31-10-2008, 22:22
Can't remember if I've mentioned it, but 'Once a Warrior King' is a pretty good account of a Special Forces team training back country hill tribesmen in Vietnam.
Natch the one for the Iraq/Gulf war conflict is Jarhead. I thought the book was considerably better than the movie.
Just finished once a warrior king. I found it quite different from most war type narratives, it didn't follow a chronological path of someone in country, more like momiors of a soldier which i found quite refreshing. it was more like he picked a subject then combined all his stories regarding that particular aspect into the chapters. I thought it was a good solid war story for anyone who enjoys that type of reading.
I have just started readin the unauthorised biography of w. axl rose by mick wall (the same guy he slags off in"get in the ring") so far it is quite a good read. Wall tends to start each chapter outlining what was happening around axl at that particular time, ie what trends were happening, what types of music was around etc which really gives you a good idea of the type of situation axl and the band were in at the time. also, i found that even though rose verbally attacks wall in teh song, wall tends to write quite fairly and it isn't a big slagging contest.
EnjoyTheSauce
02-11-2008, 20:54
The Wheel of time is a good series when you've got some time to waste.
cata|yst
02-11-2008, 21:07
The Wheel of time is a good series when you've got some time to waste.
agreed
drunk.kiwi
02-11-2008, 21:16
Anything by Sven Hassel. WW2 Ficticious autobiography stories, Fantastic.
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n24/n123765.jpg
+1
I have all of his books.
a couple of them are a lot worse for wear, still a bloody good read tho.:rnr:
I'm going though all my Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman books again, much to the wife's disgust.(she hates sci fi/ fantasy )
EnjoyTheSauce
02-11-2008, 21:22
agreed
And I mean alot of time (10 books the series is at)
Too bad the author died and the final book wont be written by him.
Just finished once a warrior king. I found it quite different from most war type narratives, it didn't follow a chronological path of someone in country, more like momiors of a soldier which i found quite refreshing. it was more like he picked a subject then combined all his stories regarding that particular aspect into the chapters. I thought it was a good solid war story for anyone who enjoys that type of reading.
Sweet, pleased you got some value out of it.
If yer into that kinda thang, Soldier I, SAS, by Michael Paul Kennedy. One of the team who went into the Iranian Embassy in London.
EnjoyTheSauce
03-11-2008, 00:26
thomas convant series by stephen donaldson...very good (lord fouls bane is the first one) i actually hated the main character though.
The Thomas Covenant Series is pretty good, and a different sort of fantasy in the way that the main character is very flawed instead some uber own everything with his epic power type of thing. For example hes a leper in the "real world" gets hit by a car and wakes up in the fantasy world where he gets all feeling back and the first thing he does is rapes a girl.
The very first book is quite boring but the rest I thoroughly enjoyed 9\10.
Funny - am re-reading that for the tenth time at the moment.
Didnt' realise they'd made a movie....
Awesome, cheers Zolteg, good to know :)
bsmurf11
03-11-2008, 18:46
I am looking for some new reading material, usually read the likes of Jack Higgins, Fredrick Forsyth, Collin Forbes, Jeffery Deaver, Patricia Cornwell to name a few.
Any suggestions for a new author to check out?
Patrick Robinson
Eyewitness to carnage
Endgame 1945 by David Stafford
Endgame 1945
by David Stafford
Little, Brown £20, pp448
This is the way the war ends: not with euphoria, but in chaos, confusion and continuing cruelty. They think it's all over? They're wrong. And here David Stafford, who specialises in essentially human history - great events seen through individual eyes - weaves an often majestic tapestry of testimony from the anguish of those who survived Belsen, those who liberated Berlin and those whose ordeal we hear far less of, because Delfzijl and the Cap Arcona never got the headlines they deserved.
It's an inevitably uneven book; that is the nature of the human experience upon which it relies. One witness, the 26-year-old German daughter of a plotter who failed to kill Hitler, is whisked from her aristocratic life as mistress of an Italian villa into Buchenwald. Her husband is gone, her two little children are lost. It will be a remarkable year of suffering before they are united again. The story of Fey von Hassell is poignant enough for Hollywood.
Another witness, a determined, valiant Brit, Francesca Wilson, is there among the debris with UN Relief and Rehabilitation, but little she sees adds insight to devastation. Geoffrey Cox and his New Zealanders march vividly through Italy; Robert Reid from BBC Manchester gets some gut-wrenching stories, but watches Frank Gillard scoop him for others.
Time and again, you sit up and take notice in ways that more conventional history lets slip. Nazis brutal, Allies gentle? It wasn't quite that simple. As they liberated the concentration camps, even hard hats such as George Patton turning aside from the piles of bodies to be physically sick, America's troops grew revolted by the bestiality they saw. Could you trust a German to surrender? No way, after too much duplicity.
SS and paratroopers had to be dispatched 'on sight' - and were. No Geneva Convention niceties here. 'We were bringing in casualties and my captain said, "Take them out and shoot 'em." And they did. It was awful. He murdered them.' The killing only abated when HQ found enemy intelligence drying up. Gabby prisoners needed to talk. The quality of mercy came cynically constrained.
But should we wonder at this or many more horrors beside? Not in the sense that this is real war, waged by real people. Live through a night of carnage with young Reg Roy as his Canadian Cape Bretoners take terrible casualties in the flat fields around Delfzijl, the last Dutch port in German hands. Live through a day of hapless carnage as RAF Typhoon bombers sink ships - the Thielbek and converted liner Cap Arcona - full of prisoners of war (French, Belgian, Dutch, Poles, Russians) being shipped out of Hamburg: 2,750 die on the Thielbek; 4,250 are burned or drowned as the huge Cap Arcona goes down. RAF headquarters knew there were prisoners on those ships, but 'by some oversight, the message was never passed on'. Friendly fire has never seemed more malevolent.
As these incidents, and many more like them, form a pattern, you begin to find resonances with echoes for today, not 60 years ago. Take Iraq. When the German armies in Holland surrendered, they were not immediately disarmed or incarcerated. Instead, by local agreement, they were left intact to keep order on the streets, dealing with Dutch rioters and looters celebrating Nazi defeat. Any compliant force for law and order was better than none, we reckoned. Tell that to Dick Cheney and Paul Bremer. Why, Churchill even wanted to keep the Wehrmacht together on a broader front for exactly that practical purpose (though Eisenhower took no heed). The lesson Baghdad forgot was written in mud, not sand.
Could you just walk out and leave populations to their fate? That's what we did in the Sudetenland, three million ethnic Germans expelled, to add to the 12 million suddenly driven from their former homelands by Poland and Stalin in the biggest ethnic cleansing 20th-century Europe endured. Pack up and quit - and tragedy lingered behind. The legacy of hate was more hate. The collaborators, in France, Holland or Italy, were seized on by mobs and often torn limb from limb. Peace meant retribution as well as rejoicing. The endgame was often as brutal a game as war itself. And grisly logic, in the rubble, was German girls selling themselves for a few cigarettes and a bar of chocolate. The last breadwinners left.
The success of Stafford's method, using ordinary men with ordinary voices (and wives, such as Vera Reid back in Stockport with the kids), is to make such testimony still moving and urgent six decades on. The concentration camps ought to be as unforgettable now as they were to the troops who first found them. The stench of 'rotting flesh, faeces and urine' that hung over Belsen should never entirely fade. Nor should the woman who greeted one Red Cross worker: 'Me ... no name - only number - no country, just a Jewess, do you understand? I am only a dog.' The evil that men do lives on and on.
Once you see that through human eyes as the dark side of continuing humanity, easy pieties and slogans fade away. You know what war was like, is like and will be like again. You see the mistakes and evasions. You look into the depths and shudder. Endgame 1945 isn't a footnote to history. It's the last chapter in a book from which to learn before another volume opens.
War Junkie - John Steele
John was a cameraman for ITN and a war junkie. This tells the story of his time in some of the most distrubing places to his hooker and drug addiction etc.....
Great book that doesn't hide the truth.
Sven Hassell books are a great romp....There is alot of controversary surrounding him and his claims that the books are based on his time in the army, but blaah they are a good laugh
frankytanky
20-11-2008, 20:46
War Junkie - John Steele
John was a cameraman for ITN and a war junkie. This tells the story of his time in some of the most distrubing places to his hooker and drug addiction etc.....
Great book that doesn't hide the truth.
Sven Hassell books are a great romp....There is alot of controversary surrounding him and his claims that the books are based on his time in the army, but blaah they are a good laugh
classic, i just logged onto this to post about war junkie. I found it quite good, like he is sorta spiriling into madness and you could see the breakdown happenning as he became more immune to the violence and gore he was filming.
I just picked up apache dawn: always outnumbered, never outgunned.
blog from amazon.
In the summer of 2007 the British Army's 662 Squadron deployed its most potent weapons system in combat for the very first time - the iconic Apache attack helicopter. This is the definitive story of the aircraft and of the crew who fly her, and of their baptism of fire in the battle for Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Under the call-sign Ugly, four of the Army Air Corps' finest pilots flew a relentless series of missions during their 100-day deployment, stretching the aircraft, and themselves, to the limit. Apache Dawn recounts these operations from the perspective of the aircrew, plus the soldiers on the ground who owe their lives to the Apaches' intervention during the white-hot heat of battle. Bestselling author Damien Lewis has been given unprecedented access to the pilots of the Apache Attack Squadrons - an elite band of warriors operating at the very limits of modern warfare. Apache Dawn is their story, and it is one of untold bravery and resilience against all odds.
seems to be a very decent, insightfull account of the problems faced and resolved by aan apache strike team trying to decifer what is happenning below them. going by what i have read so far it seems like a very decent read.
The Necroscope series was ok I guess. Didn't read the later books.
Don't know what it sprang too mind. Guess I've played too much Doom recently.
qwerty4me
11-12-2008, 15:40
Titan - Stephen Baxter (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0006498116/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228962531&sr=8-1)
In the future (now the past, it was written in 1996,) 2004, America elects a new fundemantialist christian president into office, the world slips into recession, China goes to war with Taiwan, causing a tense standoff between the US and China. NASA suffers a crisis, when the shuttle Colombia is destroyed, and the anti-science president uses this as an excuse to shut down NASA. However, signs of chemical life have been detected on Titan. Using every last scrap of resources avaiable to them, the crumbing NASA team launch a manned mission to Titan, Saturns largest moon, using current technology, as war starts to consume the world.
This book completely blew my mind. It's scary how accurately he writes about the future, NASA looses another shuttle (he even got the right shuttle - Columbia, and the same conditions - burns up during reentry), America (re)elects an anti-science, republican president, China launches a human into orbit at the same time (he got the timing right to within a few weeks), a recession hits the world in 2008... he even predicts a new culture of self pity, apathy and nihilism in the youth. That's right, he even predicted emo culture.
Apart from the fact this man can obviously read the future, it's a novel which is just completely mindblowing. He makes his book technically realistic, so everything which happens in the book could be accomplished in real life, so reading along to this future (present, the Titan mission launches in 2008) of what could be, is amazing. And the ending... wow. If you like realistic, but still mindblowing 'what if' stories, this is just about about the king of them.
Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
Edit: Now theres a teen hype after 3 months of posting this, brilliant.
frankytanky
20-12-2008, 09:23
Just sinking my teeth into : Hogs in the Shadows: Combat Stories from Marine Snipers in Iraq, by Milo S. Afong.
As the title suggests, it is stories from HOGs (hunter of gunmen) in Iraq. Seems to be a pretty std story book about real occurances, which I love to read about, and going by what I have read, I would recommend anyone who likes this particular topic to pick it up.
I'm reading a book by Glyn Harper called "Images of War" ... absolutely outstanding!
http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp132/chillifunkhouser/IMG_2937-1.jpg
Its a photo based record of New Zealanders in WW1. I raise my glass to those who took part in that and I'm still trying to grasp the understanding of that time that basically without question to the motherland, i.e; England, that sent our young men to their deaths on battlefield overseas. Oh how our communities and way of thinking changes ah. Sometimes for the best but in others for the very worst. Id like to see our average 18 year old today have the sheer will and guts to even go through the basic army training as those fellas did then. Amazing read.. cost a bit though (about $65 for a soft cover..) but I can see now why it costs this much.
Worth having and worth remembering what helped form our nation I reckon.
http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp132/chillifunkhouser/IMG_2938-1.png
Gallipoli revealed the military potential and the natural talents of the New Zealander soldier, especially his ability to adapt to difficult circumstances..
http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp132/chillifunkhouser/IMG_2942-1.jpg
http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp132/chillifunkhouser/IMG_2943-1.jpg
urbaninja
14-01-2009, 23:08
Just read Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. Good book, very interesting.
Can someone please explain to me the significance of the dream Robert Langdon has twice in the book? Once at the start, and again at the end. Its the dream which he is climbing stairs after his wife(?), and she says 'I knew I should have married a younger man.' I can't seem to link it with anything that relates to the story.
liquidpain
27-02-2009, 14:44
I just received a book that i ordered from the library, Wired for war: The robotics revolution and conflict in the 21st century by P.W.Singer. I will start reading it as soon as i finish a book by Bill Bryson short story of everything.
frankytanky
28-02-2009, 10:46
Just finished reading Operation Certain Death by damien lewis, it is the true story of the Sierra Leoneian rebal group called "the west side boys"(lol!), who specialise in murder, rape, sodemy of little boys, cutting of of limbs, robbery, etc etc and how they took 11 British troops (and 1 sierra leoneian) hostage. The story is well written and takes the point of view from the SAS, SBS etc and the hostages to give a well rounded detailed account of öperation Barras"and everthing that went down including the ensuing fist of god that britain threw out to crush them once they relised that people who bring babies heads on stakes to the hostage negotiation table just can't be bargained with.
I brought this book on a whim, and really enjoyed reading it (dispite the shit title!)
huey31415
20-03-2009, 13:11
Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker Trilogy. It's actually five books, but the author is a quirky guy, so he calls it a trilogy anyway. The first is "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Totally hilarious; the 2nd one is the best book I've ever read.
There was a movie made of the first one a few years ago, but it wasn't true to the book and was not nearly as funny.
http://www.audiobooksonline.com/media/Douglas_Adams_Hitchhikers_Guide_to_the_Galaxy_unab ridged_compact_discs_Random_House.jpg
"Journey to the West" is also good. It was originally published anonymously in the 1590s and is one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature. It's an enormous book though, so it will take a long time to read it.
http://valdostamuseum.org/hamsmith/sunwukong.jpg
UppityDuck
20-03-2009, 14:44
Amazing read.. cost a bit though (about $65 for a soft cover..) but I can see now why it costs this much.
University Book Shop (Campus, not Hospital) has it on their sale table (and has for some time) at about $20 IIRC...
Just started reading 'The Treaty' by Marcia Stenson. Interesting stuff.
The saga of Darren Shan by Darren Shan
http://lh6.ggpht.com/orangeline/SIyAr5dGycI/AAAAAAAAA30/fKFR-3xB6TQ/s400/saga_of_darren_shan.jpg
Great series loved it
First books to get me hooked
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