Books Tally - 1st Quarter 2010
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We used to have a monthly update of the books we were reading or have read but we didn't keep that updated.
Anyways, here's the new thread for the 1st Quarter of the year. As usual, feel free to list the books you have read from Jan - Mar 2010 and post your reviews and recommendations as well.
I'll try to keep a running tally in this first post to facilitate discussions as that will make it easier for us to see, at a glance, who is reading, or has read, the books that we are interested in.
Happy Reading, Club 30 Bookworms!
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this is the best book I've read in recent memory.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shantaram_(novel)
the author. he does look like how I pictured him in my head.
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going to go buy this book
coz PPZ was a barrel of laughs!
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I’m reading Shantaram currently too and I think the author is a fantastic narrator
He also describes India like how I remember her to be, and he has this knack of drawing you into the story.
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Really nice gothic novel...i've also read a novel version of psyche recently...
I'm also trying to read as much work by japanese authors as possible...got a soft spot for them...the two murakamis, taichi yamada and koji suzuki...
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I'm currently reading this :
It's a walkthrough of an almanac year of short anecdotes of Japanese culture, lifestyle and history.
The author was once a Geisha in Japan and she appears to have an intricate understanding of the Japanese psyche. Her reflections and accounts are often interesting and in places where the subject matter appears to be a tad heavy, the brevity of the article prevents the reader from being bogged down by the sheer gravity and sombreness of the topic being discussed.
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I actually finished three books this quarter.
EVE: The Empyrean Age was just friggin awesome, one of the best novels I've read thus far. All the politics, stategies, tactics, lies, deception, romance, loyalty, honour crammed into one book, I could never put this down thanks to AV.
This one was pretty good too, it's set in London and Prague in the 1660's, following an English bookseller search for an ancient manuscript leads him into a world of deception and murder.
And of course Dan Brown. Very good read. Set in Washington after The Da Vinci Code. A deadly race through a real-world labyrinth of codes, secrets, and unseen truths, all under the watchful eye of Brown's most terrifying villain to date.
Now I'm working on this book
Into the Wars of the Roses, at their most terrible and bloody climax, come three sophisticated and highly civilized easterners from South India who are on a mission to trace the Prince of Vijayanagara's long-lost brother.
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Right now I am following the Shadows of the Apt series by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The city states of the Lowlands have lived in peace for decades, bastions of civilization, prosperity and sophistication, protected by treaties, trade and a belief in the reasonable nature of their neighbours.
But meanwhile, in far-off corners, the Wasp Empire has been devouring city after city with its highly trained armies, its machines, it killing Art . . . And now its hunger for conquest and war has become insatiable.
Only the ageing Stenwold Maker, spymaster, artificer and statesman, can see that the long days of peace are over. It falls upon his shoulders to open the eyes of his people, before a black-and-gold tide sweeps down over the Lowlands and burns away everything in its path.
But first he must stop himself from becoming the Empire's latest victim.A great mixture of fantasy and steampunk. Those who enjoy political intrigue, detailed descriptions of seige engines and other tools of warfare will love this. 4 books have been released so far. I'm working my way through the 2nd one.
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Originally posted by The man who was death:
Really nice gothic novel...i've also read a novel version of psyche recently...
I'm also trying to read as much work by japanese authors as possible...got a soft spot for them...the two murakamis, taichi yamada and koji suzuki...
for a lighter touch, you can try Banana Yoshimoto..
whimsical, weird and wonderful to read.. if you want to, you can start with Kitchen, her first book.. it has strange characters which somehow you take to heart.. a woman struggles with the death of her grandmother ends up staying with one of her friends and his transexual mother..
i've read some of Ryu Murakami's stuff, namely In The Miso Soup and Piercing.. looking out for Coin Locker Babies
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finished the following free books on my iphone:
- pride and prejudice - jane austen
- sense and sensibility - jane austen
currently on emma - jane austen 75% (9 Mar)
also read the following books:
- angels and demons - dan brown
- without remorse - tom clancy
- the bear and the dragon - tom clancy (9 Mar)
red rabbit - tom clancy (starting)
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Originally posted by russiabear:
finished the following free books on my iphone:
- pride and prejudice - jane austen
- sense and sensibility - jane austen
currently on emma - jane austen 50%
also read the following books:
- angels and demons - dan brown
- without remorse - tom clancy
currently reading the bear and the dragon - tom clancy 50%
I've got the whole set of Tom Clancy's Power Plays, it's pretty good.
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Originally posted by the Bear:
for a lighter touch, you can try Banana Yoshimoto..
whimsical, weird and wonderful to read.. if you want to, you can start with Kitchen, her first book.. it has strange characters which somehow you take to heart.. a woman struggles with the death of her grandmother ends up staying with one of her friends and his transexual mother..
i've read some of Ryu Murakami's stuff, namely In The Miso Soup and Piercing.. looking out for Coin Locker Babies
there's this novel by a japanese author called, "apprenticeship of big toe p" about the protagonist having a penis for a big toe(hallux) some wierd sexual novel.
Dunno if i should get it since reviews are bad...
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Right now....reading The Breaking Point . Nothing remarkable so far.
Any Sci fi fan?? Any fan of Orson scott Card Enders Series? So can gush together?
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Originally posted by ShrodingersCat:
Right now....reading The Breaking Point . Nothing remarkable so far.
Any Sci fi fan?? Any fan of Orson scott Card Enders Series? So can gush together?
My current preference is the likes of John Scalzi , Peter Hamilton, Richard Morgan, John Ringo, David Weber, Eric Flint and etc.You should try Old Man's War by John Scalzi. Reminiscent of old school science fiction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Man%27s_War
I also highly recommend Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan.
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Woo are any of these available in ebooks?
Problem is I can never remember the names of any authors except those I like a lot.
Currently am reading - Cory Doctorow's books. He is a sci-fi writer than writes under the Creative Commons licence, everything is free and legal to download from his site or manybooks.net, even though his books are also sold in bookstores. Some of his books/stories have won the hugo award as well.
I didn't 'notice' him specially until I realise some of the recent favourites I've read all happened to be written by him.
Check out his website at craphound.com
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Originally posted by ShrodingersCat:
Woo are any of these available in ebooks?
Problem is I can never remember the names of any authors except those I like a lot.
Currently am reading - Cory Doctorow's books. He is a sci-fi writer than writes under the Creative Commons licence, everything is free and legal to download from his site or manybooks.net, even though his books are also sold in bookstores. Some of his books/stories have won the hugo award as well.
I didn't 'notice' him specially until I realise some of the recent favourites I've read all happened to be written by him.
Check out his website at craphound.com
some are available as free ebooks, some you have to pay for. anyway, this is an excellent site for free sci-fi ebooks. I highly recommend the honour harrington series by david weber.
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I love this kind of 'lots of useless information' books.
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Originally posted by fudgester:I love this kind of 'lots of useless information' books.
i read his previous effort.. he does put in a lot of links everywhere.. and they make sense too..still awaiting Abe Lincoln Vampire Hunter to come.. but i should go finish up City Boy and also Natsuo Kirino's Real World..
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Originally posted by russiabear:
finished the following free books on my iphone:
- pride and prejudice - jane austen
- sense and sensibility - jane austen
currently on emma - jane austen 75% (9 Mar)
also read the following books:
- angels and demons - dan brown
- without remorse - tom clancy
- the bear and the dragon - tom clancy (9 Mar)
red rabbit - tom clancy (starting)
finished:
- emma - jane austen
- mansfield park - jane austen
currently on
- persuasion - jane austen 10%
- red rabbit - tom clancy 25%
- veronika decides to die - paul coelho 10%
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oh.. Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Hunter is awesome!
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Hopefully it's not too late, I actually finished this book before the 1st of May!
EVE: The Burning Life
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1st quarter submission of completed readings:
* pride and prejudice - jane austen
* sense and sensibility - jane austen
* emma - jane austen
* mansfield park - jane austen
* persuasion - jane austen
my fave jane austen novel is pride and prejudice. very power pack love story cos the lovers are like opposites attack. one is too proud the other is too prejudiced.
dont like sense cos its sad the dynamic girl settles down to being 'normal'.
emma is a fun romance, a lot of miscomm causing the fun.
mansfield is really a slow walk in the park. a sowing and reaping exercise in love.
persuasion - dont like the novel. read and forget already.
* angels and demons - dan brown
everyone knows this by now. if not, please go watch the movie or read this book.
* without remorse - tom clancy
the story of how clark came to join the CIA. a story of 1 man against a crime syndicate. a lot of shooting, killings.
* the bear and the dragon - tom clancy
wishful thinking by author of US and now non-communist Russia vs red China. still, good stuff. tom cannot go wrong
* red rabbit - tom clancy
fascinating read about how spies work in communist Russia, and how assassinations are carried out.
* life of pi - yann martel
story of a boy in a lifeboat with a bengal tiger. implausible? then read the book. it offers an 2nd story, a more acceptable one. but then again, it's all just a story.
incomplete readings carried forward:
* veronika decides to die - paul coelho 60%
* flatland - edwin abbott 70%
* caravans - james michener 20% -
sorry i couldn't find the sticky for this...
i just finished a chic lit - "perfect timing" by jill mansell
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I finished reading 'The Pianist' by Wladyslaw Szpilman on the flight home.
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I thought everyone should read this book before ------ You Kick the Bucket so at least you have some knowledge of Earth Past and Present and possible future.....
You don't have to be a Rocket scientist to understand the text it talks about Early Earth. It provide up to date understanding of the Universe.
BEYONG UFO - THE SEARCH FOR EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE AND ITS ASTONISHING IMPLICATION FOR OUR FUTURE.
Author : Jeffery Bennett
Jeffrey Bennett holds a B.A. in Biophysics from the University of California, San Diego, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the University of Colorado, Boulder. His extensive experience in research and education includes serving two years as a Visiting Senior Scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC; creating research and education projects for the Hubble Space Telescope and other NASA missions; proposing and helping to develop the Voyage Scale Model Solar System on the National Mall in Washington, DC; and teaching at every level from preschool through graduate school.