This week, I are mostly reading....

Rhyme

Absolutely flying through 'Magician' by Raymond E. Feist... great book i have to say, got it for my birthday and havent put it down since.

Nimrod's Son

Rhyme wrote:

Absolutely flying through 'Magician' by Raymond E. Feist... great book i have to say, got it for my birthday and havent put it down since.

I've recently read Magician and I flew through it as well, only cos I couldn't wait for it to end. I've heard rave reviews about it but IMO I really couldn't see what the big fuss was about. It might be just that I've outgrown the fantasy genre but I can't ever see myself reading the rest in the series.

Laplandman

Was about to read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, but am afraid it may be a patronising and uninspiring take on a far from tired genre. Should I let its fantastical nonsense inside my brain or should I use it to break into houses?

John

Laplandman wrote:

Was about to read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, but am afraid it may be a patronising and uninspiring take on a far from tired genre. Should I let its fantastical nonsense inside my brain or should I use it to break into houses?

I just finished it and I loved it.

secret_squirrel

Laplandman wrote:

Was about to read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, but am afraid it may be a patronising and uninspiring take on a far from tired genre. Should I let its fantastical nonsense inside my brain or should I use it to break into houses?

Read it for the novelty value, I thought it different enough to be worth a read even though in the end I was a bit disappointed.

Banphrionsa

1972 by Morgan Llywelyn. A woman's view of Ireland between 1950 and 1972. Very interesting fact-based fiction.

Feu

The Shackled Continent - Robert Guest.

It's a short read, and he lacks some analysis for this length, but if you if you're not too sure what happens in Sub Saharan Africa and would like a crash course - this one is a good place to start. If you're fairly au fait with events down there, there's probably still some interesting stuff for you here.

It's accesible, and written in a journalistic, dry but compassionate style. It examines some of the reasons for the continuing poverty in african countries. And also, what's behind the couple that have had some economic success. He also proposes policies and measures for improving situations. It gives background to some of ongoing warfare, and the role of the west in it. But sometimes doesn't delve deep enough into why exactly aid has failed - corrupt regimes not withstanding.

One reservation would be that he concentrates perhaps too much on Mugabe and Zimbabwe, but as one of the most corrupt and well documented, it is a book in itself.

Roen

The Fate Of Africa, by Martin Meredith.

A fairly weighty tome on post colonial Africa, basically chronicling the last 50 years of the continent since its first country gained independence.
It can be a little stat heavy at times but the author crams those stats into a page or two early on in the various chapters, which then frees up the remainder for the real history, the intrigue, the drama and the horror of suffering on an almost unimaginable scale.
Highly recommended if anyone wants a greater understanding of the issues facing Africa today.
http://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/publicaffairsbooks-cgi-bin/display?book=1586482467
Should anyone wish for a more indepth look.

After finishing that I've now just started on The Cracking Code book, by Simon Singh.

John

The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman. Only a few chapters in but it's very good so far.

arbeitsscheuer

Wolves Eat Dogs, by Martin Cruz Smith

The Arkady Renko detective stories continue... And the first chapters indicate that Smith's still on fine form!

Nimrod's Son

Ploughing ahead with the Dark Tower series (Wolves Of The Calla) despite Scruff's efforts to ruin it on me!

dudara

Currently immersed in "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova. It's slowly but surely sucking me in.

growler

currently flicking between:
Look to Windward, Iain M Banks

Mauritius Command, Patrick O Brian

and

Mc Carthys Bar , Pete Mc Carthy

glad I got into the Patrick O Brian stuff, there's enough of them to keep me going for ages and you pick up a lot of archaic naval terminology along he way, which is bound to be utterly useless in the normal course of events.

dudara

Have just started into "Nefertiti" by Joyce Tyldesley, a biography of the famous egyptian queen. It's pretty interesting and is providing lots of good background on general egyptian life

John

Just started The Monk by Matthew Lewis. I'm only about ten pages in so no opinions as of yet.

LoLth

Just finishing Imperial Ambitions by david barsamian (interviews with Noam Chomsky)
Finishing up necroscope II: wamphyrii (about my sixth or seventh re-read... for some reason I jsut love to read this series. Strange because I think a lot of the rest written by lumley is utter crap.....)

just starting Cell by Stephen King
Just starting Caesar against the Celts by someone I forget....

byte

Just started reading Staying Alive, by Matt Beaumont. Hope it's as good as his book, e, which was a good read IMHO.

Rhyme

Flew over two more David Gemmell books (Ghost King and Last Sword of Power) and now onto book two of the Riftwar saga, 'Silverthorn' by Raymond E. Feist... its sizing up well already

Beats

Starting on "Factotum" by Charles Bukowski. Have memory of reading "Postman" a number of years ago and enjoying simplicity of it, although it's not very up beat.

Valmont

Glamorama by Bret Easton Ellis.

It includes a cameo appearance by Patrick Bateman. How sweet is that!!

Nimrod's Son

Fool The World by Josh Frank and Caryn Ganz. Interesting stuff.

pbsuxok1znja4r

Perelandra - CS Lewis

BossArky

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus - John Gray.

Almost 1/3 of the way through this book. So far the author is heavily emphasising the fact that men need time in their cave, whilst women love talking. The art is to recognise when your partner is in their cave or talking mood and respond appropriately.

I was rather dubious prior to reading this book, however it makes a number of valid points. I shall read on.

bringitdown

The Flood, Ian Rankin

tis okay

theCzar

reading "Blue Eyed Salaryman" by Niall Murtagh, about an irish guy who finds himself working for Mitsubishi in Japan. fascinating insight into Japanese business culture and well worth reading.

Jay Tomio

Getting back on reading track, after being rather busy lately, I picked up Bonehunters (Erikson) and Carey's Kushiel's Scion again, while stealing some time to read an Agatha Christie Poirot novel, Cat Among the Pigeons. I got Stephen Baxter's new Emperor coming out (I think in June) that I'm really looking forward to read. Finally put up my review of Daniel Abraham's A Shadow in Summer, which came out last week, the first book in his Long Price Quartet

Legend_DIT

I've just started Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond - nice style of writing so far..

Piste

I'm reading A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, very violent, but I like the whole RussianSpeak in it.

Nimrod's Son

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. A good read thus far, especially if vampires are your bag.

theCzar

Nimrod's Son wrote:

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. A good read thus far, especially if vampires are your bag.

great book, great ending, and indeed vamps are not my particular bag.

I'm reading "two hours to doom" by Peter Bryant. short book that was the basis for Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove. It's almost exactly the same except there's no humour at all, and a few other changes.