What book are you reading atm??

FouxDaFaFa · 21-06-2014 10:07pm

PartnerSeeds wrote: »

Ghosts in the Wires by K. Mitnick very good read

Thanks for reminding me, I've been meaning to pick that up.

You might like "Hacker Crackdown - Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier" by Bruce Sterling, it's available as a free e-book.

And maybe "Kingpin" by Kevin Poulsen.

smellmepower · 21-06-2014 10:48pm

Half way through Factotum by Charles Bukowski.Read 'Ham on Rye' earlier in the week and thought it was hilarious,Factotum not so much.

smellmepower · 21-06-2014 10:54pm

GalwayGuy2 wrote: »

Does anybody know any good crime books that are more on the ethnographic/ case study-ish side of things. Kinda like Martina Cole?

I'm watching the wire and I like how the city seems to come alive.

Read this a few weeks ago.Really interesting and very funny at times,and great descriptions of how aspects of criminality can differ wildly between each race/nationality in New York.

PartnerSeeds · 22-06-2014 11:38am

FouxDaFaFa wrote: »

Thanks for reminding me, I've been meaning to pick that up.

You might like " by Bruce Sterling, it's available as a free e-book.

And maybe by Kevin Poulsen.

Thanks for the suggestions will look into them

sadie06 · 22-06-2014 10:32pm

i'm reading The Sisters Brothers by Patrick Dewit and loving it so far. It is episodic, and laugh out loud funny at times, but quite sad also.

FouxDaFaFa · 30-06-2014 4:45pm

Going through a Jon Ronson phase and read two of his books back to back.

The Psychopath Test - very interesting subject. The idea that "functional" (for want of a better word) psychopaths occupy some of the most influential or lucrative positions in society. Not a new concept but I like Ronson's style. I particularly enjoyed his interviews with "Tony", who claimed he had feigned insanity to serve time for a crime in a mental institution rather than prison and who now is "trapped" in the asylum, a supposedly sane man amongst the murderers and child molesters. Although I felt the ending was a little lacklustre. It just kind of...stopped.

The men who stare at goats - Very enjoyable again.

Currently reading Mission Mongolia by David Treanor. (Travel writing). David and his friend, both in their 50s, take voluntary redundancies from the BBC, buy a cheap jeep and (hopefully) drive from London to Ulaanbaatar and donate the jeep to a charity there. I'm enjoying it so far, even though the author is going into pain-staking detail about each meal, etc.

GalwayGuy2 · 30-06-2014 4:53pm

Hmmm, should we create an after hours book club?

MagicIRL · 30-06-2014 4:55pm

The Way of the Fight - Georgres 'Rush' St. Pierre

A great little book about the mind of a champion (Welterweight GOAT) and what it takes to succeed.

eisenberg1 · 30-06-2014 5:19pm

FouxDaFaFa wrote: »

Going through a Jon Ronson phase and read two of his books back to back.

The Psychopath Test - very interesting subject. The idea that "functional" (for want of a better word) psychopaths occupy some of the most influential or lucrative positions in society. Not a new concept but I like Ronson's style. I particularly enjoyed his interviews with "Tony", who claimed he had feigned insanity to serve time for a crime in a mental institution rather than prison and who now is "trapped" in the asylum, a supposedly sane man amongst the murderers and child molesters. Although I felt the ending was a little lacklustre. It just kind of...stopped.

The men who stare at goats - Very enjoyable again.

Currently reading Mission Mongolia by David Treanor. (Travel writing). David and his friend, both in their 50s, take voluntary redundancies from the BBC, buy a cheap jeep and (hopefully) drive from London to Ulaanbaatar and donate the jeep to a charity there. I'm enjoying it so far, even though the author is going into pain-staking detail about each meal, etc.

I will give the first one a miss, but the second two seem like good reads, for me. T hanks

smellmepower · 30-06-2014 5:28pm

Women by Charles Bukowski.

Not as interesting as Factotum or Ham on Rye,decent enough though.

eisenberg1 · 30-06-2014 5:33pm

eisenberg1 wrote: »

"Saigon" by Anthony Grey.

Read it years ago and came across it by chance for the kindle, a great read and a good insight to the whole of the Vietnam saga, from early 1900's French Indo-China to the fall of Saigon.

I actually am just now reading this again. I read it years ago, and at that time thought it was very good, my opinion has changed now, its actually pretty terrible. Good from the overview, and bit of background to the Vietnam situation, but I guess that's what history books are for. Very condescending style of writing, give it a miss.

cloudatlas · 30-06-2014 9:48pm

'The Silkworm' by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)

Brilliant so far better than the first in the series.

Ilyana 2.0 · 01-07-2014 1:52pm

I finished The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman. Broke my heart so it did

Now I'm halfway through Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. The main character is a bit of a drip but the descriptions of Manderley are fantastic, and overall I'm really enjoying it.

Merkin · 01-07-2014 4:26pm

Ilyana 2.0 wrote: »

I finished The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman. Broke my heart so it did

Glad you got your hands on it, it made me bawl.

I finished And The Mountains Echoed by Khalid Hosseini and am bitterly disappointed. The first few chapters were told in his unique, inimitable style and was like being acquainted with an old friend and the remainder a disjointed, unfocused and confusing mess. For fans of Hosseini I'd say to stay well clear.

Am now reading Flowers of Algernon by Daniel Keyes and I'm intrigued. It's different to anything I've read before so I'm keen to see where it leads.

That_Guy · 01-07-2014 4:30pm

The Passage by Justin Cronin.

Not too far into it but it's absolutely gripping stuff altogether. Highly recommended.

Thargor · 01-07-2014 4:41pm

Good book alright, still remember most of it years later, it has a sequel aswell, The Twelve.

iwantmydinner · 01-07-2014 6:59pm

That_Guy wrote: »

The Passage by Justin Cronin.

Not too far into it but it's absolutely gripping stuff altogether. Highly recommended.

I started that one boring morning and was super intrigued, but it was at someone else's house. It's on The List.

Paddy Samurai · 01-07-2014 8:21pm

Part 5 of 10 in the Matthew Corbett series

About 50% read and loving it so far. I do however feel a bit cheated given the shortness of this book. This is a great series overall ,and because of the high standards set by the first 4 books ,there is no way a 250 pg book will be able reach the same levels of previous epic adventures.

Hopefully McCammon is not running out of ideas and book six will get us back on track..

iwantmydinner · 01-07-2014 8:54pm

Just started How To Be A Woman by Caitlin Moran. I've been looking forward to reading this for ages

GLaDOS · 01-07-2014 10:36pm

Completely engrossed by No Country for Old Men at the moment. Haven't seen the movie and sticking by my mantra of the book is always better

Tardful Slakerly II · 01-07-2014 10:48pm

ScienceNerd wrote: »

Completely engrossed by No Country for Old Men at the moment. Haven't seen the movie and sticking by my mantra of the book is always better

It is. I watched the movie too and liked it though, probably more than others as I knew what to expect. It's worth a watch once you've finished reading, it's pretty faithful and fun to compare.

gutenberg · 09-07-2014 1:36pm

Finished The Luminaries last week, and loved it! I had heard lots of comparisons with Dickens etc., and while I can't stand Dickens, I loved this. I enjoyed peeling back the layers of the story, and the interactions of the different characters, although I admit I had to remind myself who some of them were from time to time, particularly if I hadn't read any of it for a few days (characters like Nilssen etc).

Moved on to Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt this week, it's been on my shelf for a while, and a recent debate among friends about the arrest of 90-something-year-old guards reminded me I had wanted to read it.

gutenberg · 09-07-2014 1:36pm

Finished The Luminaries last week, and loved it! I had heard lots of comparisons with Dickens etc., and while I can't stand Dickens, I loved this. I enjoyed peeling back the layers of the story, and the interactions of the different characters, although I admit I had to remind myself who some of them were from time to time, particularly if I hadn't read any of it for a few days (characters like Nilssen etc).

Moved on to Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt this week, it's been on my shelf for a while, and a recent debate among friends about the arrest of 90-something-year-old guards reminded me I had wanted to read it.

cloudatlas · 09-07-2014 11:16pm

'Arguably' by Christopher Hitchens. It appears to be quite long at over 800 pages but is easy to get through. It's a series of essays the majority of which so far seem to be in the form of book reviews for literary publications. The topics cover subjects such as personages in American history a lot of whom are political figures, literary figures and their works, global questions. Very erudite and quick witted.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k · 09-07-2014 11:21pm

I'm reading hope you're okay hun.

eisenberg1 · 10-07-2014 10:26am

LexieOnRale wrote: »

I'm reading hope you're okay hun.

Elaborate please:D

Vojera · 10-07-2014 10:28am

I'm reading The Maze Runner by James Dashner. It's been on my to-read shelf on Goodreads for two whole years but seeing that there's a film coming out has finally given me the impetus to get it read.

I'm five chapters in and it has established itself pretty quickly in that time. I have a good idea of who the main players are and what the big mysteries are going to be. So far so good.

10-07-2014 10:36am

Ilyana 2.0 wrote: »

Now I'm halfway through Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. The main character is a bit of a drip but the descriptions of Manderley are fantastic, and overall I'm really enjoying it.

Yay!
Now you'll be able to watch the mitchell & webb sketch of it. It's brilliant

Merkin wrote: »

Am now reading Flowers of Algernon by Daniel Keyes and I'm intrigued. It's different to anything I've read before so I'm keen to see where it leads.

Hope you like it

eisenberg1 wrote: »

If you guys like the above, and if you have not already read it, try I know this much is true, by Wally Lamb, I think you will like it.

Loved it. It was amazing. I am going to get that "she's come undone" book by him next

MRnotlob606 · 10-07-2014 10:38am

On anarchy by Noam Chomsky

McChubbin · 10-07-2014 10:54am

Currently about 5 chapters into "The Fault In Our Stars" by John Green. It's not something I'd normally pick for myself as I'm wary of most Young Adult fiction due to having wasted an entire weekend attempting to read Twilight but this is surprisingly good.

Shenshen · 10-07-2014 11:50am

"Galapagos" by Curt Vonnegut, "The Quarry" by Ian Banks and "The Power of Others" by Michael Bond.

I would definitely recommend the first (utopian, unsettling, strange, but somehow never uncomforting) and the last (about the influence other people and groups have on our behaviour. A bit simple, but a very good read). I'm not so sure yet about The Quarry, it's a little - well, slower than his other books.

Ilyana 2.0 · 10-07-2014 11:57am

bluewolf wrote: »

Yay!
Now you'll be able to watch the mitchell & webb sketch of it. It's brilliant

Ooh I must remember that! Only about 1/3 to go

Daisies · 10-07-2014 11:59am

iwantmydinner wrote: »

Just started How To Be A Woman by Caitlin Moran. I've been looking forward to reading this for ages

Me too. Had many snorts of laughter on the bus yesterday.

BeerWolf · 10-07-2014 12:08pm

Introduction to Java Programming (Comprehensive 9th Edition) by Y. Daniel Liang .

Aspiring Java programmer right here - I know how to do "Hello World!" !

:pac:

BlimpyBoy · 10-07-2014 12:29pm

Just finished Great North Road by Peter F. Hamilton

It's a murder mystery set in Newcastle in the 2100s. 1100 pages but it didn't feel like it. Kept me hooked the whole way through.

old hippy · 10-07-2014 12:32pm

BlimpyBoy wrote: »

Just finished Great North Road by Peter F. Hamilton

It's a murder mystery set in Newcastle in the 2100s. 1100 pages but it didn't feel like it. Kept me hooked the whole way through.

Geordies in space!

I picked that up the other week for 50p; dying to read it now!

BlimpyBoy · 10-07-2014 12:33pm

old hippy wrote: »

Geordies in space!

I picked that up the other week for 50p; dying to read it now!

Definitely worth 50p!

Dramatik · 10-07-2014 12:54pm

The Examined Life by Stephen Grosz

It's about a psychoanalyst who tells stories about their different patients and how the psychoanalyst gets to the root of the patient's problem which is usually hidden deep within them and is often not what the psychoanalyst first thinks it is.

Vojera · 10-07-2014 1:02pm

Dramatik wrote: »

The Examined Life by Stephen Grosz

It's about a psychoanalyst who tells stories about their different patients and how the psychoanalyst gets to the root of the patient's problem which is usually hidden deep within them and is often not what the psychoanalyst first thinks it is.

Sounds interesting. I'll add it to the list.