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Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body

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  • 05-05-2008 9:23pm
    #1
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭


    Have been reading through some of the logs here and I think keeping a log is a great idea :)

    I often end up in the situation where I wondering whether or not I've read a book and a log would be a great way to keep track!

    My reading tastes are a bit all over the place, I mix it up with everything from Tom Clancy to classics, and there are a few series of books I like reading too.

    So, (what I remember of) this years books:

    Super Crunchers by Ian Ayres - data mining has practical uses...

    The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

    Nothing But Blue Skies by Tom Holt

    Sharpe's Eagle by Bernard Cornwell

    Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

    The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

    Killer Instinct by Joseph Finder

    Chi Running by Danny Dreyer - good ideas, not sure how many I'll put into practice though.

    The Sum of All Fears by Tom Clancy - I'm running out of Tom Clancy books, one of his best.

    Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

    The Northern Lights by Philip Pullman - re-read after many years, great story.

    Flashman and the Redskins by George McDonald Fraser - one of my favourite series of books is the Flashmans, absolutely hilarious stories about the biggest coward/hero in the British army c. 1850 who spends more time whoring around and getting into trouble than he does actually soldiering!

    Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay - thriller about a CSI who leads a double life as a homicidal psychopath.

    Christine Falls by Benjamin Black - A must for anyone who is a fan of Irish fiction or the crime thriller genre, John Banville writes these as Benjamin Black as they are a very different style to his other books and very readable.

    The Silver Swan by Benjamin Black

    Currently reading:

    Guns, Germs & Steel by Jared Diamond - on human evolution and evolution of races

    Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris - satire

    Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift - about to start

    Future reading:

    I've to try to ease back on the buying books for a while, there's a pile of about 25 sitting on the fireplace here in front of me waiting to be read!!


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    #2
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    Finished:

    Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift - really enjoyed this, a lot more than I expected to. Some interesting themes which are still prevalent in modern Europe.

    Next:

    Vanish by Tess Gerritson


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    #3
    eclectichoney
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,291 ✭✭✭eclectichoney


    Loved that Jared Diamond book xebec and the David Sedaris too :)

    I'm noticing a strong correlation between people with fitness logs and reading logs :pac:


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    #4
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    eclectichoney wrote: »
    I'm noticing a strong correlation between people with fitness logs and reading logs :pac:

    I'm not afraid of the odd sci-fi though :pac:

    Finished:

    Vanish by Tess Gerritsen - very short and far too easy reading - perfect for exam time...

    Next:

    Haven't totally made up my mind yet, still have last weeks copy of Time unopened on my bedroom floor... Think The Rainmaker by John Grisham will be the next one.


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    #5
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    Finished:

    The Rainmaker by John Grisham - I'm not a particularly big fan of Grisham, but this was an interesting, if predictable trial story.


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    #6
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks (writing as Ian Fleming) - great addition to the Bond series of books. Fast paced and intriguing thriller set in the 60s.


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    #7
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    Eragon by Christopher Paolini - excellent fantasy novel based around dragons, really looking forward to the 2nd book in the series. The original of this was written when the author was 15, fantastic book considering...


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    #8
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman - second of the Dark Materials trilogy, took a bit longer to get going than the Northern Lights but excellent finish and set up nicely for the final book.


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    #9
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    Night of the Fox by Jack Higgins


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    #10
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    Catch-22 by Joseph Heller - bought it ages ago but never got around to reading it, but after hearing loads of great things about it on here I finally picked it up. Superb book, absolutely hilarious and utterly confusing!! I didn't want it to finish...


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    #11
    raah!
    Registered Users Posts: 2,629 ✭✭✭raah!


    xebec wrote: »
    Catch-22 by Joseph Heller - bought it ages ago but never got around to reading it, but after hearing loads of great things about it on here I finally picked it up. Superb book, absolutely hilarious and utterly confusing!! I didn't want it to finish...

    Read this a few days ago too, I also found it rather confusing (especially near the start), but over all brilliant. Apparantly there is another one of Heller's books with Yossarian in it, don't know if it's a sequel or not ......

    Maybe you can read that and give your opinion? atm I have a good 12 books in the stack that I'm gonna read first.
    (actually that's a ridiculous thing to say :P)


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    #12
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    raah! wrote: »
    Read this a few days ago too, I also found it rather confusing (especially near the start), but over all brilliant. Apparantly there is another one of Heller's books with Yossarian in it, don't know if it's a sequel or not ......

    Maybe you can read that and give your opinion? atm I have a good 12 books in the stack that I'm gonna read first.
    (actually that's a ridiculous thing to say :P)

    Yeah, the sequel is Closing Time and does indeed have Yossarian in it, but unfortunately my book pile is more like 30 books so won't be buying more anytime soon...


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    #13
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    Holes by Louis Sachar - very short and quick read, excellent little book.


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    #14
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy - I've read almost all the Tom Clancy books, but had skipped over this one because I had seen the movie so often. This book, while not being quite as good as some of his others, is a fantastic read. Full of suspense and action - and submarines, planes and boats!! - with a plot which is becomes very different to the movie as the book goes on. If you're a fan of Tom Clancy or political thrillers then definitely give this a go, and see the movie too!


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    #15
    cautioner
    Closed Accounts Posts: 862 ✭✭✭cautioner


    The only Tom Clancy I've read is The Sum of All Fears. It was exhausting, but worthwhile. I really don't have the willpower to pick up another one though.


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    #16
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    Attention All Shipping by Charlie Connolly - a very interesting book about travels around the different areas mentioned in the shipping forecast on BBC Radio 4. Some very quirky places visited, one of my favourites was Sealand. I'm going to be sailing through some of these areas in a few weeks, so was good to learn something about them.


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    #17
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    The Good German by Jospeh Kanon - fantastic murder thriller set in 1945 Berlin.


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    #18
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    Eldest by Christopher Paolini - follow up to Eldest, another fantastic book about dragons, elves, dwarves and humans.


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    #19
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    Wow, it's been a while... And I haven't finished too many books...

    Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor

    In the Beginning was the Command Line     by Neal Stephenson - interesting essay on the origin of operating systems and how they were developed. A bit outdated now as it was written in the late 90s, but Stephenson is still my favourite author.


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    #20
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    Animal Farm by George Orwell - reading it again after about 10 years, different perspective on it compared to when I was in school. Quite sinister look at society.


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    #21
    MrJones
    Closed Accounts Posts: 468 ✭✭MrJones


    raah! wrote: »
    Read this a few days ago too, I also found it rather confusing (especially near the start), but over all brilliant. Apparantly there is another one of Heller's books with Yossarian in it, don't know if it's a sequel or not ......

    Maybe you can read that and give your opinion? atm I have a good 12 books in the stack that I'm gonna read first.
    (actually that's a ridiculous thing to say :P)

    im reading this at the mo as well. read 6 chapters over 2 months! so decided to start again. Going well now. It is utterly confusing but think will prob be worth it in th end -heres hoping!!


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    #22
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    Mr S and the Secrets of Andorra's Box by Ross O'Carroll Kelly (aka Paul Howard) - well not exactly literature, but thoroughly enjoyed it. The best and most original of the books in a long time.


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    #23
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    Whispers by Dean Koontz


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    #24
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    Red Dragon by Thomas Harris - the introduction to Hannibal Lecter...


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    #25
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    Catch-up time...

    The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - another collection of short stories from the famous sleuth.

    Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - just because...

    My Booky Wook by Russell Brand - not high quality literature, but still an excellent read from an excellent comic.


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    #26
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    The Hijack by Duncan Falconer - cheap buy picked up in Chapters for €1. Thoroughly enjoyed this story about SBS soldiers, MI6 and a nuclear bomb. Will deffo get another one of his books, it's only €1 too :)


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    #27
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

    The Lemur by Benjamin Black - the latest by Wexford author John Banville, shorter than the others but great still.


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    #28
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    Sharpe's Havoc by Bernard Cornwell

    1984 by George Orwell


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    #29
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

    Free Range Chickens by Simon Rich - short and funny pieces from a SNL writer...


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    #30
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    Glue by Irvine Welsh - fantastic book that took me ages to read because of all the Scottish accents... Hilarious and tear jerking with some of the funniest sex scenes I've ever read.


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    #31
    xebec
    Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain


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