What are you reading?

[WS_Jack_III]

Anybody else read The Last Policeman series? I'm just about to finish book two, "Countdown City."

enjoying the second book more, it's a weird one, crime thriller set in a pre apocalyptic American with an asteroid heading for impact with Earth within six months.

[Ted Dansons Wig]

Crusades: War for the Holy Land.

Who needs Game of Thrones - this shit actually happened.

[kaosmark2]

this shit actually happened.

Not that I'm a fan of Game of Thrones, but why is that cimment relevant? A novel is designed to engage and entertain, and in the case of good ones to make you think. Fiction and non-fiction serve different purposes and there's room for both of them.

[Ted Dansons Wig]

Not that I'm a fan of Game of Thrones, but why is that cimment relevant? A novel is designed to engage and entertain, and in the case of good ones to make you think. Fiction and non-fiction serve different purposes and there's room for both of them.

Of course they do - to suggest otherwise would be silly. But dont you think that a story is so full of bravery, cowardice intrigue and horror actually happened it adds something? Gives it an urgency and vitality that crosses the thousand years since it all kicked off?

I wasnt dissing GOT (though its not my bag either) but knowing that real individuals went through and did some of the events described in here just fills me with wonder. The Siege of Antioch for example where Peter Bartholemew finds the the Holy Lance just at the moment the siege is about to collapse and is gives them the chutzpah to carry on and take the city. Then when they take the city they realise they're trapped inside when the Muslim army turns up and surrounds them.

Then there the slaughter of the Sack of Jerusalem which lays so much groundwork for the shit that continues today in the middle east.

No dragons admittedly...

[kaosmark2]

No dragons admittedly...

The crusades would have been better with dragons.

[Ted Dansons Wig]

The crusades would have been better with dragons.

and orcs

[kaosmark2]

and orcs

I think they were before Prescott's time.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

I haven't read a book in over two years. Shame on me. I'm going to somewhere quiet for the Christmas period for a week, so am hoping to make ammends there. I've bought a few books for the occassion and hope to nail at least one of them. There's no television there and no internet access (unless I can hook on to the local pubs Wifi), so there's a fair chance I'll break the stand off that I've had with books.

I am particularly fascinated by real life drug smuggling / prison books. If you are anyway inclined in that direction then I'd recommend;

(1) Escape: The True Story of the Only Westerner Ever to Break Out of the Bangkok Hilton (David MacMillan). It's a fascinating read - the bloke makes James Bond look like Mr. Bean.

(2) A more harrowing read along the same lines is The Damage Done: Twelve Years Of Hell In A Bangkok Prison (W. Fellows).

[Ted Dansons Wig]

(2) A more harrowing read along the same lines is The Damage Done: Twelve Years Of Hell In A Bangkok Prison (W. Fellows).

Ive got the pop-up version of this

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Ive got the pop-up version of this

That doesn't surprise me.

[Spindles]

Just coming to the end of the Ringworld series, by Larry Niven. Interesting sort of read if you are into examinations of what would happen to a wider genetic variation throughout the human species.

As so many people have made a big deal about The road (which I really did not enjoy as a film) I think I'll try that next, if only in the hope that the insight into the characters thoughts is more revealing than the actor's portrayal. I've always had a thing for apocalyptic fiction, so I'm hoping I find more value in the book.

[kaosmark2]

I've always had a thing for apocalyptic fiction, so I'm hoping I find more value in the book.

I'm still not sure I've read a better isolated horror scenario than I Am Legend. Fantastic book.

[Ted Dansons Wig]

Just coming to the end of the Ringworld series, by Larry Niven. Interesting sort of read if you are into examinations of what would happen to a wider genetic variation throughout the human species.

As so many people have made a big deal about The road (which I really did not enjoy as a film) I think I'll try that next, if only in the hope that the insight into the characters thoughts is more revealing than the actor's portrayal. I've always had a thing for apocalyptic fiction, so I'm hoping I find more value in the book.

Bloody hard read. Sat up all night in a Dublin hotel and read it from cover to cover during a particularly difficult time at work. I so identified with the characters as I have a son the same age. I couldn't bear to even attempt the film as aresult

[bunique]

The Road is one of my all time favourites. Entirely bleak but so powerful.

[Ted Dansons Wig]

McCarthey has a haunting quality that I'm not sure is matched by anyone living that I'm aware of (though I would be delighted to be corrected). The Border Trilogy and Blood Meridian are books that have stayed with me ever since I read them.

Edited December 19, 2014 by Ted Dansons Wig

[WS_Jack_III]

Loved the Road and No Country but his writing style is so odd.

[windy_miller]

Just coming to the end of the Ringworld series, by Larry Niven. Interesting sort of read if you are into examinations of what would happen to a wider genetic variation throughout the human species.

As so many people have made a big deal about The road (which I really did not enjoy as a film) I think I'll try that next, if only in the hope that the insight into the characters thoughts is more revealing than the actor's portrayal. I've always had a thing for apocalyptic fiction, so I'm hoping I find more value in the book.

I read the first Ringworld book which was OK, but nowhere near as good as it is made out to be.

If you're into post apocalyptic fiction, I can highly recommend Mockingbird by Walter Tevis which is incredibly haunting. And as kaosmark2 mentioned, I Am Legend is brilliant, much better than the film. You can't go wrong with Day Of The Triffids either.

Edited December 23, 2014 by windy_miller

[Ted Dansons Wig]

I read the first Ringworld book which was OK, but nowhere near as good as it is made out to be.

If you're into post apocalyptic fiction, I can highly recommend Mockingbird by Walter Tevis which is incredibly haunting. And as kaosmark2 mentioned, I Am Legend is brilliant, much better than the film. You can't go wrong with Day Of The Triffids either.

There's an anthology I got bought as a present which is worth getting. Apocalyptic SF. Some by well known writers some by unknowns (at least to me). So many different ways for the world to end.

I'd also recommend the Drowned World by JG Ballard.

[thegremlin_1999]

I'm currently starting on Terry Pratchett/Stephen Baxter's long earth. Enjoyable!

kaosmark2 did you read the Kingkiller novella? Slow regard of silent things. I'm intrigued on your thoughts!

[kaosmark2]

I'm currently starting on Terry Pratchett/Stephen Baxter's long earth. Enjoyable!

kaosmark2 did you read the Kingkiller novella? Slow regard of silent things. I'm intrigued on your thoughts!

Enjoyable, but I kinda find it doesn't go anywhere. I'm working slowly through the second.

Haven't yet, spent too much money on presents for other people and didn't get any for me

[modey]

I haven't read a book in over two years. Shame on me. I'm going to somewhere quiet for the Christmas period for a week, so am hoping to make ammends there. I've bought a few books for the occassion and hope to nail at least one of them. There's no television there and no internet access (unless I can hook on to the local pubs Wifi), so there's a fair chance I'll break the stand off that I've had with books.

I am particularly fascinated by real life drug smuggling / prison books. If you are anyway inclined in that direction then I'd recommend;

(1) Escape: The True Story of the Only Westerner Ever to Break Out of the Bangkok Hilton (David MacMillan). It's a fascinating read - the bloke makes James Bond look like Mr. Bean.

(2) A more harrowing read along the same lines is The Damage Done: Twelve Years Of Hell In A Bangkok Prison (W. Fellows).

Marching powder by Rusty Young is the best prison/drugs book I've read, amazing story.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marching-Powder-Rusty-Young/dp/0330419587

[zero000]

On the topic of drugs books I wouldn't bother with Mr Nice. As much as I love Howard Marks it gets incredibly tedious after a while.

[metallimuse]

Found out yesterday that my grandfather and great uncle are on the front cover of a book about Scottish islanders that went to war in world war 2 so currently reading that.It's called 'Fo Sgáil A'Swastika',which translates to 'Under the Shadow of the Swastika'.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Marching powder by Rusty Young is the best prison/drugs book I've read, amazing story.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marching-Powder-Rusty-Young/dp/0330419587

I agree, it's a great read. I've read a lot of books in this area. I just find these people's lives incredibly fascinating. I've taken drugs through customs before on a number of occassions, but only on a personal use kind of scale. I'd never have the bottle, or the greed, to even contemplate what these people do. What happens to them when they get caught is a powefully compelling read.

[Spindles]

Banging my head against The Road. Has the author never heard of punctuation? It's like a wall of fucking text.