Full Version: Books
While on holiday I have been mostly reading:
Orchestra The LSO: A Century Of Triumph And Turbulence by Richard Morrison.
This is a biography of the London Symphony Orchestra, published in 2004 (its centenary year).
The LSO was (and still is) unusual in that it was set up by it's members and is owned and controlled by them to this day. This fact is the cause of most of the orchestra's highs and lows during its history.
Richard Morrison's book is engrossing and offers a rare insight into the world of professional classical music.
I know some of you will be thinking that this sounds as dull as feck, but you're wrong. The stories and the characters wil be interesting even to someone who despises classical music. Read it...now!
Orchestra The LSO: A Century Of Triumph And Turbulence by Richard Morrison.
This is a biography of the London Symphony Orchestra, published in 2004 (its centenary year).
The LSO was (and still is) unusual in that it was set up by it's members and is owned and controlled by them to this day. This fact is the cause of most of the orchestra's highs and lows during its history.
Richard Morrison's book is engrossing and offers a rare insight into the world of professional classical music.
I know some of you will be thinking that this sounds as dull as feck, but you're wrong. The stories and the characters wil be interesting even to someone who despises classical music. Read it...now!
Jennie: the Christopher Moore book disappeared! Where did it go? I do have the Brookmyre in my grubby mitts though and will provide analysis when I'm done.
Haha! Victory is mine! I have the Moore book.
Cram it up your cramhole, Rossiter!
I'll give it to you when I'm done fella.
Cram it up your cramhole, Rossiter!
I'll give it to you when I'm done fella.
At the rate my books go, that book will be around long enough to make the rounds of most of the UK before I need it back.
I finished the Adrian Mole diaries on the flight home. Luckily, I was sitting next to a British family, so when I mumbled:
I finished the Adrian Mole diaries on the flight home. Luckily, I was sitting next to a British family, so when I mumbled:
QUOTE
Sometimes I think Mrs Thatcher is a nice kind sort of woman. Then the next day I see her on television and she frightens me rigid. She has got eyes like a psychotic killer, but a voice like a gentle person. It is a bit confusing.
-- and started laughing, they didn't think I was bonkers. Right now I'm reading The Big Over Easy and enjoying it. I agree that Fforde has really grown as a writer--and I'm having a good time trying to figure out who all of the british detectives are (Moose=Morse, Maple=Marple etc...).
Hmm, I'm not sure I got that far in my analysis of his minor characters...I must have noticed.
I read The Fourth Bear on the weekend and enjoyed it a lot. Especially as it involves Jonathon Swift's ideas for cucumbers...however; I read it far too quickly to have any coherent thoughts on it so I'll have to read it again at a more leisurely pace before I give it make to the wonderful institution known as the library.
I'm now also throughly confused over which world this is all happening; one chapter heading (from the Bumper Book of Berkshire Records) lists Goliath as the largest fictional muli-national corporation and mentions that it was shortly taken over by the Toast marketing board but was back on its feet and bothering people by the beginning of the 5th Thursday Next novel...
Ah well; Thursday will return in War of the Words apparently.
I read The Fourth Bear on the weekend and enjoyed it a lot. Especially as it involves Jonathon Swift's ideas for cucumbers...however; I read it far too quickly to have any coherent thoughts on it so I'll have to read it again at a more leisurely pace before I give it make to the wonderful institution known as the library.
I'm now also throughly confused over which world this is all happening; one chapter heading (from the Bumper Book of Berkshire Records) lists Goliath as the largest fictional muli-national corporation and mentions that it was shortly taken over by the Toast marketing board but was back on its feet and bothering people by the beginning of the 5th Thursday Next novel...
Ah well; Thursday will return in War of the Words apparently.
QUOTE
Haha! Victory is mine! I have the Moore book.
Cram it up your cramhole, Rossiter!
Cram it up your cramhole, Rossiter!
Damn you Nendick!
So, if you're odd (as I am) and like organizing your books, or just want to see what they look like all listed out, go to Library Thing. I've tried a few different ways to organize my books, and I like this one the best. Right now my library (under "jnyrose") is only partially entered as many of my books are in storage. One of the nicer bits of the set-up there is that it will pull multiple books from amazon (or a different site) and add them to your catalog fairly painlessly. You can also tag your books--which if you tend to come up with your own sort of categories is a nice touch. I actually have a "badgerfest" tag that I use for books I got off of this thread. They're working on a download to Ipod feature...if you wanted a list of the books you own on you at all times.
In other news, I have finished Fforde and am now moving on to Gregory Maguire's Wicked--a retelling/twist on The Wizard of Oz. So far, so good--but I'm only ten pages in.
In other news, I have finished Fforde and am now moving on to Gregory Maguire's Wicked--a retelling/twist on The Wizard of Oz. So far, so good--but I'm only ten pages in.
Cool, I'll have to try it. Though I'll probably find I actually read very little and it's all a great scam; part of some long con that'll have you all cursing my name in 15 years' time.
As for Moore you said you'd bring it over for me; I'm going to have to sulk until I get to read it.
As for Moore you said you'd bring it over for me; I'm going to have to sulk until I get to read it.
For those Iain M Banks fans out there I've found an epilogue to Against a Dark Background; enjoy.
Against a Dark Background: Epilogue
By Iain M. Banks ©1994 Iain M. Banks.
The cable car swung gently as it rose through the mists towards the long summit of the cliff. She put out her hand and moved her fingers through the golden curls of the child's hair. The girl pretended not to notice. She knelt on the seat of the cable car with her nose pressed against the glass, looking down at the quiet gray buildings and the broad, step boulevards and the small parks passing beneath. The sky beyond the cliffs was filled with pale layered clouds which looked soft and clean and calm, while the mists below and behind the slowly rising car afforded hazy patchwork views of the canals, wharves and harbours of the city.
'You think it unlikely my former self survived, then.'
She turned from looking at the child, the wide smile still on her face, then nodded, her expression becoming more serious and her gaze falling briefly to the floor of the cable car.
'Very unlikely,' she said. 'But not impossible.'
Feril made a shrugging motion. 'Oh well,' it said, 'if they ever do excavate to the level of the Sea House ruins and discover my original self still somehow conscious or potentially so, it should pose an interesting moral and legal question.'
Its plastic face moved to form a smile.
'It'll be a while before they start excavating the Sea House, I suspect,' she told the android. 'They reckon there were a couple of reactors in there nobody knew about; from the radiation signature of the leaks they're very old and very dirty, and their containment's been breached; it's only the wreckage that's keeping it more or less sealed.'
'Did they ever discover who attacked the building?'
She shook her head, glancing at the child again and folding her arms. 'No,' she said. 'No, they didn't.'
The destruction of the Sea House had been one the last acts of the war, happening without warning three days after Sharrow had left the huge building in the monowheel. What had almost certainly been a stealth cruise missile had delivered a fusion airburst which had reduced the great House to rubble. None of the conflict's various sides had claimed responsibility and it was thought the perpetrators of the strike would never be discovered; the most likely explanation was held to be that the target had been the Sad Brothers rather than the building itself and the attack had been a rival cult settling some old score; there had been a lot of that sort of thing during the brief war, especially between the more militant faiths. Sharrow still suspected these theories were wrong and the explosion had been the Lazy Gun's work, but there was no easy method of proving the matter either for or against, and she wasn't sure that it really made much difference anyway.
She reached out and smoothed some hair from the girl's face, then glanced out of the window, gaze darting around the silent grey spaces of the city and the rising mists, as if looking or waiting for something. Feril thought she seemed a little apprehensive at being in the cable car, as though she suffered from vertigo; but it was not sure; it could not recall her being so afflicted in the past and wondered why she seemed so concerned now. Feril could feel the act of wondering trigger a memory search; it allowed the routine to continue and it quickly found the most likely reason for the lady's distress.
Of course.
Feril felt itself experience what it thought of as an internalised smile, combined with an odd mixed sensation of concern and a kind of respect, perhaps even admiration.
The woman who had been the lady Sharrow was dressed in old-fashioned but finely- made clothes, and she looked well, if rather older than Feril would have expected, remembering her from her first visit to Vembyr, two years earlier. There was a hint of what people called grey hair at her temples, and her face looked more worn and lined and somehow softer. Her hands looked different too, it thought; the skin there appeared harder, as though whatever she did now, it involved working with her hands.
She had yet another new name now, and Feril supposed that in a sense, the lady Sharrow really had died, somewhere between Molgarin's Keep - where the Huhsz had discovered what they'd assumed was her body - and the Sea House, where this slim, aging but still strong woman had left so much of her past buried and renounced.
It experienced a degree of regret that she could reappear so unexpectedly - and so delightfully - after its resurrection, only to give it another cause to mourn the passing of the old world ... but it was a small degree of regret, and it chided itself for such self-pity. How many people had so much more to mourn! This four-year-old, kneeling on the seat of the cable car, staring intently out at the mists and architecture of the city, was just one of half a million orphans Golter's last spasm of self-abuse had produced. The signs that something good had come out of the Decamillenial War were still encouraging, but the correction had been severe, and any gain in social equality, any lessening in civilisation tension, had been bought at the expense of the millions of personal catastrophes.
It itself had done well out of the fall of the Court and the subsequent, less legally rigid re-ordering that had resulted; it had been resurrected decades before it might otherwise have expected to be called back into independent existence. And now - thanks to this woman sitting here, poised, alert (and nervous, though trying not to show it), smiling lovingly at the little girl on the seat - now it knew that its previous self had behaved with bravery, resource and honour, and had - assuming that it had died, as it supposed one must - died well.
A kind of glow spread through Feril's consciousness as it contemplated the value of the gift this woman had brought it, just by telling the story of that doomed journey to the fjord, the tower, the Keep and the House.
It watched her watching her adopted child and thought - if it was not itself being overly sentimental now - that it detected in her outgoing care a kind of wary, protective joy, as though the continual act of observance was itself a source of inestimable satisfaction and - again, always assuming it was not suffering an attack of excessively romantic emotionalism - thought that it identified in itself a similar concern for her; a realisation that came accompanied with the sadness of knowing it might never see her or her daughter again.
It looked up to the cliff-top cable-station as the car slowed, approaching its destination.
She stood, taking up a shoulder-bag from the seat and smoothing her skirt as the car rumbled into the concrete space of the ancient building. Feril stood too, smiling at the little girl as she bounced off the seat and took her mother's hand; the doors opened to an empty hall and they stepped out.
The little girl skipped along the floor as they walked towards the exit, swinging this way and that on her mother's arm. 'That was good! That was good! Mummy, can we do it again? Please can we? Please?'
'Not just now, my love. Maybe we can come back, for a short while.'
She looked at Feril as she said this, with what might have been regret. It smiled too, then looked away.
Outside, the parking space set amongst the trees of the cliff-top gardens was empty, save for the little three-wheeled car she had arrived in. People called them Austerity Wagons. Feril thought the steam-driven automobile it had recently started rebuilding for the second time, the one wrecked when the apartment building (which it was also restoring again) had been blown up and tumbled into the street. It felt a little guilty about focusing its abilities on the past rather than on the reconstruction that humans were presently so busily engaged in, but it felt a kind of pride as well, and besides knew that the reorganisation was something they had to do for themselves, for a variety of reasons.
She opened the small car and fussed over the child as she strapped her in, then turned, flicking some of her dark brown hair away from her face. She smiled. Feril thought she looked slightly embarrassed.
'It occurs to me,' she said, 'that you know why I wanted to come up in the cable car.'
It nodded. 'I believe I know,' it said, glancing at the child, sitting in the car and playing with a toy. 'And I understand.'
Feril hesitated, while she looked down at the car-park surface, and then it added, 'I noticed that you no longer limp.'
She laughed gently. 'I had that seen to. Something I should have done years ago.' She shrugged, diffident again. 'One learns.' She put her hand out. It took it.
'It was good to see you again,' it said. 'And thank you.'
Another shrug. 'I owed you.'
'Then it is mutual. If I can ever be of help, to you or yours; do not hesitate to contact me. I mean this.'
'Thanks. Maybe one day.' She looked around the trees and lawns of the half-neglected gardens. The air was cool and sharp and a freshening breeze was blowing, sweeping the mists away from the edge of the cliff and slowly sending them back down into the city and out towards the bay and the sea beyond.
Feril shook her hand and then bowed. 'Farewell,' it said.
She gave another small laugh and came forward, rising of the toes of her boots and kissing the android on its cheek. 'You take care,' she said.
It wore an expression of delighted surprise on its face for the time it took for her to get into the car, start it and drive off down the road, one hand waving from a window and the little girl twisting round in her seat and staring back through the rear screen and waving too.
Then it shook itself and - still with a smile on its face - started back to the cable car station, to return to the city, where, as ever, there was work to be done.
Against a Dark Background: Epilogue
By Iain M. Banks ©1994 Iain M. Banks.
The cable car swung gently as it rose through the mists towards the long summit of the cliff. She put out her hand and moved her fingers through the golden curls of the child's hair. The girl pretended not to notice. She knelt on the seat of the cable car with her nose pressed against the glass, looking down at the quiet gray buildings and the broad, step boulevards and the small parks passing beneath. The sky beyond the cliffs was filled with pale layered clouds which looked soft and clean and calm, while the mists below and behind the slowly rising car afforded hazy patchwork views of the canals, wharves and harbours of the city.
'You think it unlikely my former self survived, then.'
She turned from looking at the child, the wide smile still on her face, then nodded, her expression becoming more serious and her gaze falling briefly to the floor of the cable car.
'Very unlikely,' she said. 'But not impossible.'
Feril made a shrugging motion. 'Oh well,' it said, 'if they ever do excavate to the level of the Sea House ruins and discover my original self still somehow conscious or potentially so, it should pose an interesting moral and legal question.'
Its plastic face moved to form a smile.
'It'll be a while before they start excavating the Sea House, I suspect,' she told the android. 'They reckon there were a couple of reactors in there nobody knew about; from the radiation signature of the leaks they're very old and very dirty, and their containment's been breached; it's only the wreckage that's keeping it more or less sealed.'
'Did they ever discover who attacked the building?'
She shook her head, glancing at the child again and folding her arms. 'No,' she said. 'No, they didn't.'
The destruction of the Sea House had been one the last acts of the war, happening without warning three days after Sharrow had left the huge building in the monowheel. What had almost certainly been a stealth cruise missile had delivered a fusion airburst which had reduced the great House to rubble. None of the conflict's various sides had claimed responsibility and it was thought the perpetrators of the strike would never be discovered; the most likely explanation was held to be that the target had been the Sad Brothers rather than the building itself and the attack had been a rival cult settling some old score; there had been a lot of that sort of thing during the brief war, especially between the more militant faiths. Sharrow still suspected these theories were wrong and the explosion had been the Lazy Gun's work, but there was no easy method of proving the matter either for or against, and she wasn't sure that it really made much difference anyway.
She reached out and smoothed some hair from the girl's face, then glanced out of the window, gaze darting around the silent grey spaces of the city and the rising mists, as if looking or waiting for something. Feril thought she seemed a little apprehensive at being in the cable car, as though she suffered from vertigo; but it was not sure; it could not recall her being so afflicted in the past and wondered why she seemed so concerned now. Feril could feel the act of wondering trigger a memory search; it allowed the routine to continue and it quickly found the most likely reason for the lady's distress.
Of course.
Feril felt itself experience what it thought of as an internalised smile, combined with an odd mixed sensation of concern and a kind of respect, perhaps even admiration.
The woman who had been the lady Sharrow was dressed in old-fashioned but finely- made clothes, and she looked well, if rather older than Feril would have expected, remembering her from her first visit to Vembyr, two years earlier. There was a hint of what people called grey hair at her temples, and her face looked more worn and lined and somehow softer. Her hands looked different too, it thought; the skin there appeared harder, as though whatever she did now, it involved working with her hands.
She had yet another new name now, and Feril supposed that in a sense, the lady Sharrow really had died, somewhere between Molgarin's Keep - where the Huhsz had discovered what they'd assumed was her body - and the Sea House, where this slim, aging but still strong woman had left so much of her past buried and renounced.
It experienced a degree of regret that she could reappear so unexpectedly - and so delightfully - after its resurrection, only to give it another cause to mourn the passing of the old world ... but it was a small degree of regret, and it chided itself for such self-pity. How many people had so much more to mourn! This four-year-old, kneeling on the seat of the cable car, staring intently out at the mists and architecture of the city, was just one of half a million orphans Golter's last spasm of self-abuse had produced. The signs that something good had come out of the Decamillenial War were still encouraging, but the correction had been severe, and any gain in social equality, any lessening in civilisation tension, had been bought at the expense of the millions of personal catastrophes.
It itself had done well out of the fall of the Court and the subsequent, less legally rigid re-ordering that had resulted; it had been resurrected decades before it might otherwise have expected to be called back into independent existence. And now - thanks to this woman sitting here, poised, alert (and nervous, though trying not to show it), smiling lovingly at the little girl on the seat - now it knew that its previous self had behaved with bravery, resource and honour, and had - assuming that it had died, as it supposed one must - died well.
A kind of glow spread through Feril's consciousness as it contemplated the value of the gift this woman had brought it, just by telling the story of that doomed journey to the fjord, the tower, the Keep and the House.
It watched her watching her adopted child and thought - if it was not itself being overly sentimental now - that it detected in her outgoing care a kind of wary, protective joy, as though the continual act of observance was itself a source of inestimable satisfaction and - again, always assuming it was not suffering an attack of excessively romantic emotionalism - thought that it identified in itself a similar concern for her; a realisation that came accompanied with the sadness of knowing it might never see her or her daughter again.
It looked up to the cliff-top cable-station as the car slowed, approaching its destination.
She stood, taking up a shoulder-bag from the seat and smoothing her skirt as the car rumbled into the concrete space of the ancient building. Feril stood too, smiling at the little girl as she bounced off the seat and took her mother's hand; the doors opened to an empty hall and they stepped out.
The little girl skipped along the floor as they walked towards the exit, swinging this way and that on her mother's arm. 'That was good! That was good! Mummy, can we do it again? Please can we? Please?'
'Not just now, my love. Maybe we can come back, for a short while.'
She looked at Feril as she said this, with what might have been regret. It smiled too, then looked away.
Outside, the parking space set amongst the trees of the cliff-top gardens was empty, save for the little three-wheeled car she had arrived in. People called them Austerity Wagons. Feril thought the steam-driven automobile it had recently started rebuilding for the second time, the one wrecked when the apartment building (which it was also restoring again) had been blown up and tumbled into the street. It felt a little guilty about focusing its abilities on the past rather than on the reconstruction that humans were presently so busily engaged in, but it felt a kind of pride as well, and besides knew that the reorganisation was something they had to do for themselves, for a variety of reasons.
She opened the small car and fussed over the child as she strapped her in, then turned, flicking some of her dark brown hair away from her face. She smiled. Feril thought she looked slightly embarrassed.
'It occurs to me,' she said, 'that you know why I wanted to come up in the cable car.'
It nodded. 'I believe I know,' it said, glancing at the child, sitting in the car and playing with a toy. 'And I understand.'
Feril hesitated, while she looked down at the car-park surface, and then it added, 'I noticed that you no longer limp.'
She laughed gently. 'I had that seen to. Something I should have done years ago.' She shrugged, diffident again. 'One learns.' She put her hand out. It took it.
'It was good to see you again,' it said. 'And thank you.'
Another shrug. 'I owed you.'
'Then it is mutual. If I can ever be of help, to you or yours; do not hesitate to contact me. I mean this.'
'Thanks. Maybe one day.' She looked around the trees and lawns of the half-neglected gardens. The air was cool and sharp and a freshening breeze was blowing, sweeping the mists away from the edge of the cliff and slowly sending them back down into the city and out towards the bay and the sea beyond.
Feril shook her hand and then bowed. 'Farewell,' it said.
She gave another small laugh and came forward, rising of the toes of her boots and kissing the android on its cheek. 'You take care,' she said.
It wore an expression of delighted surprise on its face for the time it took for her to get into the car, start it and drive off down the road, one hand waving from a window and the little girl twisting round in her seat and staring back through the rear screen and waving too.
Then it shook itself and - still with a smile on its face - started back to the cable car station, to return to the city, where, as ever, there was work to be done.
Yeah well, you miss the birthday party, and the presents go to someone else.
Also, they are turning Darkly Dreaming Dexter into a tv show. Which freaks me out a little. Dexter is played by the brother from Six Feet Under.
If you'd metioned party games I would have made more of an effort.
A DDD TV show could indeed be freaky but the selfish people have restricted access to the homeland only.
A DDD TV show could indeed be freaky but the selfish people have restricted access to the homeland only.
I've been added to Thrusday Next Extreme Entrants but typically the link to my photo is broke...
Finished Speaker for the Dead yesterday and very good it was too. Thanks Dan.
speaker for the dead is very good but i just finished shadow of the giant (shadow series clearly) - which def finishes that one - guess there is nothing out there in the enderverse anymore!!
also re-read silverthorn for those who liked magician - king - chris - are we alone?? very very good plain adventure stuff very fun.
ps mike soo impressed with getting on the thursday next extreme photos - should have bought a book with can think of so many good spots out here!!
also re-read silverthorn for those who liked magician - king - chris - are we alone?? very very good plain adventure stuff very fun.
ps mike soo impressed with getting on the thursday next extreme photos - should have bought a book with can think of so many good spots out here!!
what is this wesbite all about maaan? Faaaaaar ouuuut dude!!!
Its like reading week on acid!
Its like reading week on acid!
Well yes Gov it's just like that...
Thanks Katime I was (and still am) most proud.
I just finished Xenocide (next in the Ender series) and I have to say it wasn't nearly as good (as shown by the fact It's taken me a week or two when Speaker... took a day or two. While Speaker had the central mysteries of the 'piggies' and the sectrects of the family to drive the plot, Xenocide just seems to have lots and lots of talking. Actual events could have been done with in half the book space.
I'll still read the next one (if I can find it in all the stuff that's piled in my uncle's spare room at the mo)
Thanks Katime I was (and still am) most proud.
I just finished Xenocide (next in the Ender series) and I have to say it wasn't nearly as good (as shown by the fact It's taken me a week or two when Speaker... took a day or two. While Speaker had the central mysteries of the 'piggies' and the sectrects of the family to drive the plot, Xenocide just seems to have lots and lots of talking. Actual events could have been done with in half the book space.
I'll still read the next one (if I can find it in all the stuff that's piled in my uncle's spare room at the mo)
QUOTE(King @ 28-Aug-06, 17:05)
Well yes Gov it's just like that...
No no - I was being serious. What is this whole thing about? Please do enlighten me.
Well, the clue's in the title; this is a petrolhead thread. We like cars. Cars, cars, cars. No, wait...
Ahh Mikey Mikey Mikey...
'Books' and 'Extreme' haven't conventionally gone together in any experience I've had in these past 27 years so if you please, could you now explain to me what on earth you've been selected for...
Twit.
'Books' and 'Extreme' haven't conventionally gone together in any experience I've had in these past 27 years so if you please, could you now explain to me what on earth you've been selected for...
Twit.
Oh ok. If you're not replying to the post above or the thread in general it helps to quote dear boy.
Are you sitting comfortably? Jasper Fforde writes books. Four books are about a woman named Thursday Next. Mr Fforde has a close internet relationship with his fans. Last year it was decided to hold a Thursday Next Extreme comp. in the manner of Extreme Ironing (where people take ironing + board + iron up a mountain/out a plane/under water and photograph themselves). This year I entered by surfing and reading his book at the same time. Got it?
I may be a twit but at least...I've got nothing.
Are you sitting comfortably? Jasper Fforde writes books. Four books are about a woman named Thursday Next. Mr Fforde has a close internet relationship with his fans. Last year it was decided to hold a Thursday Next Extreme comp. in the manner of Extreme Ironing (where people take ironing + board + iron up a mountain/out a plane/under water and photograph themselves). This year I entered by surfing and reading his book at the same time. Got it?
I may be a twit but at least...I've got nothing.
If you weren't lieing on the floor clinging to your last breath of life you weren't extreme enough.
How was Shadow of the Giant? I found the shadow series after the first book a bit weak, but at least they were easier reads than the Ender series post speaker.
How was Shadow of the Giant? I found the shadow series after the first book a bit weak, but at least they were easier reads than the Ender series post speaker.
have i missed something?
who the hell is bennyman??
who the hell is bennyman??
mike, you are so right - the ender series is interesting as it goes on but it is not really as good as the shadow series.
right now i am starting the stephen king gunslinger series - wish me luck
right now i am starting the stephen king gunslinger series - wish me luck
Ooh good luck; it's worth it in the end I think. Particularly if you're a King fan...
I believe we have a whole other Watts brother at the party. Welcome Ben, I hope you recover from being Dave.
I believe we have a whole other Watts brother at the party. Welcome Ben, I hope you recover from being Dave.
QUOTE(King @ 31-Aug-06, 11:27)
This year I entered by surfing and reading his book at the same time. Got it?
I may be a twit but at least...I've got nothing.
I may be a twit but at least...I've got nothing.
Ahaaaaaaa - I can seeee the light! Here I come JLH!
That's genius. What happens now? Are you in a draw for a prize?
Yeah, I'm not sure who decides but the winner gets a not-at-all tacky trophy, a whistle and a compass. Neat eh?
Er...yes!
QUOTE
also re-read silverthorn for those who liked magician - king - chris - are we alone?? very very good plain adventure stuff very fun.
me me look at me!
Bennyman is indeed my brother (youngest and tallest) to whom I had previously extolled the virtues (and vices) of the badgerfest family cete.
He brings an expertise in adventure/fantasy, Pratchett and crap american music to the fray ;o)
And Govind - leave him alone - he is too young for your vile mole stations...
The Importance of Being Earnest
Mildly entertaining short play by Oscar Wilde. No doubt some of you were forced through it at school sometime. I read it on my PDA over the course of a couple weeks but you could probably get through it in about an hour from a book.
Humour seemed a bit dated - mainly based about turning things backwards and being contradictory to social norms - eg statements about why puntuality is bad and tardiness is good.
Whilst I like Wilde wittisisms of quote length, this book didn't change my life.
2/5
Mildly entertaining short play by Oscar Wilde. No doubt some of you were forced through it at school sometime. I read it on my PDA over the course of a couple weeks but you could probably get through it in about an hour from a book.
Humour seemed a bit dated - mainly based about turning things backwards and being contradictory to social norms - eg statements about why puntuality is bad and tardiness is good.
Whilst I like Wilde wittisisms of quote length, this book didn't change my life.
2/5
Vernon God Little
Having recently completed Catcher in the Rye (and thought it was the biggest pile of wank, about the biggest wanker, ever) I started to regret starting this book after the first 5 pages. Same monologue style written from the point of view from some stupid dysfunctional teenager called Vernon Little who likes to give himself creative 'middle' names.
Vernon is caught up in the middle of one of those regular run-of-the-mill high school massacres and finds himself one of the only survivors in his class after his best friend flips out and kills almost everyone (and himself). He faces a lot of circumstantial evidence but mainly you think he's a bit too dumb to prove his innocence. The book covers his flight and fight with the law.
Fortunatily I was stuck in Egypt without an alternative read so I ploughed my way on past the first 5 pages. This is when you get to meet Vernon's mum and her friends. The book is a fantastic insight into the depressing state of humanity that exists in those small towns of rural redneck America (and possibly elsewhere).
I didn't want to put too much store in a ficational book but you do get the feeling these people do exist. Plus my brother said he had met enough of these types when he was travelling the south us. Jennie feel free to confirm otherwise.
You suddenly realise how George Bush can be elected. Twice.
By the second half I was definitely wanting to read on and see what happens to poor Vernon. I won't tell you of course but the ending is quite interesting if not a little convenient.
This book definitely did change my out look on things - when i see people doing really stupid things and influenced by really obvoius propoganda, I am no longer so surprised.
3.9/5
Having recently completed Catcher in the Rye (and thought it was the biggest pile of wank, about the biggest wanker, ever) I started to regret starting this book after the first 5 pages. Same monologue style written from the point of view from some stupid dysfunctional teenager called Vernon Little who likes to give himself creative 'middle' names.
Vernon is caught up in the middle of one of those regular run-of-the-mill high school massacres and finds himself one of the only survivors in his class after his best friend flips out and kills almost everyone (and himself). He faces a lot of circumstantial evidence but mainly you think he's a bit too dumb to prove his innocence. The book covers his flight and fight with the law.
Fortunatily I was stuck in Egypt without an alternative read so I ploughed my way on past the first 5 pages. This is when you get to meet Vernon's mum and her friends. The book is a fantastic insight into the depressing state of humanity that exists in those small towns of rural redneck America (and possibly elsewhere).
I didn't want to put too much store in a ficational book but you do get the feeling these people do exist. Plus my brother said he had met enough of these types when he was travelling the south us. Jennie feel free to confirm otherwise.
You suddenly realise how George Bush can be elected. Twice.
By the second half I was definitely wanting to read on and see what happens to poor Vernon. I won't tell you of course but the ending is quite interesting if not a little convenient.
This book definitely did change my out look on things - when i see people doing really stupid things and influenced by really obvoius propoganda, I am no longer so surprised.
3.9/5
QUOTE(DanSon @ 23-Sep-06, 8:00)
Vernon God Little
Having recently completed Catcher in the Rye (and thought it was the biggest pile of wank, about the biggest wanker, ever)
Having recently completed Catcher in the Rye (and thought it was the biggest pile of wank, about the biggest wanker, ever)
Yay someone agrees with me; can't see why anyone (let alone everyone) reckons it's life-changing
QUOTE
By the second half I was definitely wanting to read on and see what happens to poor Vernon. I won't tell you of course but the ending is quite interesting if not a little convenient.
Oh...I got discourged after a little while and read the end and left it at that. (I'll discuss my theory with you at some point.) I can't say I'm left with any empty feeling for not having finished it. Maybe I should (I probably won't though).
Books I have on order:
The Human Touch - Michael Frayn
Temperament - Stuart Isacoff
I'll review when they have been read.
Next thing to order will definitely be Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion.
I have a couple of other books which I should finish soon so I'll post on those too.
The Human Touch - Michael Frayn
Temperament - Stuart Isacoff
I'll review when they have been read.
Next thing to order will definitely be Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion.
I have a couple of other books which I should finish soon so I'll post on those too.
On order:
The Prince - Machevelli (or however you spell it)
Anyone read it?
The Prince - Machevelli (or however you spell it)
Anyone read it?
QUOTE(jonnyploy @ 25-Sep-06, 12:41)
Next thing to order will definitely be Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion.
Newsnight have a couple of extracts if anyone's interested. They are very interesting.
Highly recommend this site:
The Tenth Dimension
Only visit if you're prepared to think!
It is genius advertising for the dude's book.
If you don't/won't have flash read the text-only version - still good (though probably have to think harder).
The Tenth Dimension
Only visit if you're prepared to think!
It is genius advertising for the dude's book.
If you don't/won't have flash read the text-only version - still good (though probably have to think harder).
QUOTE(King @ 26-Sep-06, 12:31)
QUOTE(jonnyploy @ 25-Sep-06, 12:41)
Next thing to order will definitely be Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion.
Newsnight have a couple of extracts if anyone's interested. They are very interesting.
They also have the Paxman's interview of Dawkins. Check it one time select.
QUOTE(jonnyploy @ 26-Sep-06, 19:02)
QUOTE(King @ 26-Sep-06, 12:31)
QUOTE(jonnyploy @ 25-Sep-06, 12:41)
Next thing to order will definitely be Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion.
Newsnight have a couple of extracts if anyone's interested. They are very interesting.
The Dawkins interview was a pleasure to watch. Paxman seemed to be enjoying the process; it must be a welcome change for him to question someone for whom he does not have contempt.
Just finished Sir Thursday, the latest in theKeys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix. It continues the story very nicely, ripping along through Thursday without bothering to stop for in-depth analysis (it is aimed at kids) it porves most entertaining. Though I think to get the most out of the story it'd probably be better to wait until Sunday is done and read it as one novel.
I know, I know; I was warned, but I wanted my Nix fix.
On another note I looked up the last six months of library loans:
Sir Thursday Nix, Garth Paperback 29/09/06
Piratica : being a daring tale fo a singular gir Lee, Tanith Paperback 29/09/06
You don't have to be evil to work here, but it helps Holt, Tom Hardback 15/09/06
Shadowmarch 1 Williams, Tad Hardback 15/09/06
Virgin in the garden Byatt, A S Paperback 08/09/06
Homeward bounders Jones, Diana Wynne Paperback 01/09/06
Merlin conspiracy Jones, Diana Wynne Paperback 01/09/06
Fourth bear Fforde, Jasper Hardback 29/07/06
Year of the griffin Jones, Diana Wynne Hardback 15/07/06
Castle in the air Jones, Diana Wynne Paperback 15/07/06
Drowned Wednesday Nix, Garth Paperback 07/07/06
Earth, air, fire and custard Holt, Tom Hardback 07/07/06
Tale etched in blood and hard black pencil Brookmyre, Christopher Hardback 27/06/06
Conrad's fate Jones, Diana Wynne Hardback 27/06/06
Dark Lord of Derkholm Jones, Diana Wynne Hardback 27/06/06
Cart and cwidder Jones, Diana Wynne Paperback 27/06/06
Hexwood Jones, Diana Wynne Hardback 23/06/06
Ragwitch Nix, Garth Paperback 17/06/06
Mixed magics Jones, Diana Wynne Hardback 17/06/06
Witch week Jones, Diana Wynne Large Print 17/06/06
The lives of Christopher Chant : the childhood o Jones, Diana Wynne Large Print 10/06/06
Grim Tuesday Nix, Garth Paperback 10/06/06
Deep secret Jones, Diana Wynne Hardback 26/05/06
Unavailable Unavailable Unavailable 26/05/06
Flight of the nighthawks Feist, Raymond E. Hardback 26/05/06
First meetings : into the Enderverse Card, Orson Scott Paperback 28/04/06
Star fraction MacLeod, Ken Hardback 28/04/06
Howl's moving castle Jones, Diana Wynne Paperback 28/04/06
Cloud world Cunningham, David Paperback 28/04/06
I'm sure there's a pattern there somewhere...
I know, I know; I was warned, but I wanted my Nix fix.
On another note I looked up the last six months of library loans:
Sir Thursday Nix, Garth Paperback 29/09/06
Piratica : being a daring tale fo a singular gir Lee, Tanith Paperback 29/09/06
You don't have to be evil to work here, but it helps Holt, Tom Hardback 15/09/06
Shadowmarch 1 Williams, Tad Hardback 15/09/06
Virgin in the garden Byatt, A S Paperback 08/09/06
Homeward bounders Jones, Diana Wynne Paperback 01/09/06
Merlin conspiracy Jones, Diana Wynne Paperback 01/09/06
Fourth bear Fforde, Jasper Hardback 29/07/06
Year of the griffin Jones, Diana Wynne Hardback 15/07/06
Castle in the air Jones, Diana Wynne Paperback 15/07/06
Drowned Wednesday Nix, Garth Paperback 07/07/06
Earth, air, fire and custard Holt, Tom Hardback 07/07/06
Tale etched in blood and hard black pencil Brookmyre, Christopher Hardback 27/06/06
Conrad's fate Jones, Diana Wynne Hardback 27/06/06
Dark Lord of Derkholm Jones, Diana Wynne Hardback 27/06/06
Cart and cwidder Jones, Diana Wynne Paperback 27/06/06
Hexwood Jones, Diana Wynne Hardback 23/06/06
Ragwitch Nix, Garth Paperback 17/06/06
Mixed magics Jones, Diana Wynne Hardback 17/06/06
Witch week Jones, Diana Wynne Large Print 17/06/06
The lives of Christopher Chant : the childhood o Jones, Diana Wynne Large Print 10/06/06
Grim Tuesday Nix, Garth Paperback 10/06/06
Deep secret Jones, Diana Wynne Hardback 26/05/06
Unavailable Unavailable Unavailable 26/05/06
Flight of the nighthawks Feist, Raymond E. Hardback 26/05/06
First meetings : into the Enderverse Card, Orson Scott Paperback 28/04/06
Star fraction MacLeod, Ken Hardback 28/04/06
Howl's moving castle Jones, Diana Wynne Paperback 28/04/06
Cloud world Cunningham, David Paperback 28/04/06
I'm sure there's a pattern there somewhere...
QUOTE
Unavailable Unavailable Unavailable 26/05/06
Any good?
Not very memorable I'm afraid.
On the book front, I've just read three excellent ones, all by new(ish) writers.
They are
Twilight and New Moon from Stephanie Meyer and Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl. Twilight and it's sequel are young adult novels, definitely. They involve the "doomed" relationship between a vampire and a teenage girl. It comes off stupider than it is in that summary; it's a very well-written book and completely enthralling--I actually finished the first at one in morning, fell asleep, woke at 8am, drove immediately to Barnes and Nobles, bought the sequel and was once again up till one in the morning reading. It was great. The second separates the couple for most of the book and adds a werewolf, so there's that as well.
I read Special Topics in... a little while ago and am still trying to decide how I could describe it. If you've read, and like, Nabokov or any post-modern literature--this is going to be an amazing book for you. If you haven't read, and don't like, those sorts of books (where there's a story layered on top of a story and everything has another meaning) or are easily annoyed by literary pretension, then you'll probably hate it. I loved it. It's the story of "Blue VanDemeer" (named after a butterfly, for all of the Nabokov fans) and the year in high school where she falls in with the wrong crowd, discovers terrible secrets about her father, and witnesses the death of a teacher. It's actually not a sad book. I think the reason that it reminds me so much of Nabokov is that her life is out-of-control, but the book enjoys it and celebrates it and manages the be funny at the same time.
p.s. (I also liked Sir Thursday/Fourth Bear. You should try the Charlie Bone series by Jenny Nimmo next.)
They are
Twilight and New Moon from Stephanie Meyer and Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl. Twilight and it's sequel are young adult novels, definitely. They involve the "doomed" relationship between a vampire and a teenage girl. It comes off stupider than it is in that summary; it's a very well-written book and completely enthralling--I actually finished the first at one in morning, fell asleep, woke at 8am, drove immediately to Barnes and Nobles, bought the sequel and was once again up till one in the morning reading. It was great. The second separates the couple for most of the book and adds a werewolf, so there's that as well.
I read Special Topics in... a little while ago and am still trying to decide how I could describe it. If you've read, and like, Nabokov or any post-modern literature--this is going to be an amazing book for you. If you haven't read, and don't like, those sorts of books (where there's a story layered on top of a story and everything has another meaning) or are easily annoyed by literary pretension, then you'll probably hate it. I loved it. It's the story of "Blue VanDemeer" (named after a butterfly, for all of the Nabokov fans) and the year in high school where she falls in with the wrong crowd, discovers terrible secrets about her father, and witnesses the death of a teacher. It's actually not a sad book. I think the reason that it reminds me so much of Nabokov is that her life is out-of-control, but the book enjoys it and celebrates it and manages the be funny at the same time.
p.s. (I also liked Sir Thursday/Fourth Bear. You should try the Charlie Bone series by Jenny Nimmo next.)
i found it:
Diana Wynne
Diana Wynne
some other author
Diana Wynne
Diana Wynne
etc
Why does she randomly stick 'jones' at the end of every title?
Diana Wynne
Diana Wynne
some other author
Diana Wynne
Diana Wynne
etc
Why does she randomly stick 'jones' at the end of every title?
I love Jenny's matter-of-fact tone when talking about adding werewolves. I shall look into those even though the Meyer book sounds like a the movie version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Without the slaying.
Dan, I can't decide whether or not you're joking...you should all try reading Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones anyway.
Dan, I can't decide whether or not you're joking...you should all try reading Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones anyway.
Another Richard Dawkins interview. This time with my favourite former Daily Show correspondent, Stephen Colbert:
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Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Honourable Schoolboy by John Le Carre
I think I've reviewed these before, but I re-read them recently and enjoyed the experience. The Honourable Schoolboy was better than the first time because I understood what the hell was going on a lot better.
Temperament: How Music Became A Battleground For The Great Minds Of Western Civilisation by Stuart Isacoff.
Just as much of a history of science book as a history of music book, this tells the story of how we ended up with the musical scale that we have. Interesting.
I think I've reviewed these before, but I re-read them recently and enjoyed the experience. The Honourable Schoolboy was better than the first time because I understood what the hell was going on a lot better.
Temperament: How Music Became A Battleground For The Great Minds Of Western Civilisation by Stuart Isacoff.
Just as much of a history of science book as a history of music book, this tells the story of how we ended up with the musical scale that we have. Interesting.
QUOTE(Pete @ 18-Oct-06, 18:05)
Another Richard Dawkins interview. This time with my favourite former Daily Show correspondent, Stephen Colbert:
I want to say something short and pithy to show how much I enjoyed watching that but I can't think of anything so I decided to ramble a bit instead.
The Complete Works Of Darwin Online
On a related note, some of you may remember that I did a project on the history of chlorine while at uni and that project was part of a wider plan to publish a book on chlorine entirely written by undergraduates. Well, a publisher has stepped forward and the book is currently being edited. Here's the related bit: the director of the above Darwin thingy, Dr John van Wyhe, also happens to be the person in charge of getting our chlorine book published. Bish bash bosh.
On a related note, some of you may remember that I did a project on the history of chlorine while at uni and that project was part of a wider plan to publish a book on chlorine entirely written by undergraduates. Well, a publisher has stepped forward and the book is currently being edited. Here's the related bit: the director of the above Darwin thingy, Dr John van Wyhe, also happens to be the person in charge of getting our chlorine book published. Bish bash bosh.
Temeraire - Naomi Novik
It's the early eighteen hundreds; Napoleon is rampaging through Europe with only the English to stop him with muskets, cannon and dragons. Yep, dragons. Set in our world (except, you know...with dragons) the book follows the Celestial dragon Temeraire and his Captain, Laurence, as Temeraire is sent back to his native land of China encountering French Naval attacks, sea serpents and political intrigue.
When I heard the concept for the novel (after reports that the film rights have been optioned) I just had to read it. While it's not quite what I expected; being more of a journey to and in a foreign land than a story of aerial battles to for King and Country (though some are included), the book is well rounded and satisfying.
If you're inclined towards fantasy it's well worth a look if you can't stomach the notion of a talking dragon being used as a flying platform off of which twenty-odd guys can drop bombs on ships then it's probably not for you.
Twilight - Stephanie Meyer
Well Jennie was quite correct when she said that this was a novel about the relationship between a vampire and a teenage girl: That is pretty much the plot of the book (apart from some action and danger chapters which provide an end point). Jennie was also quite correct when she said that it is a lot better than it sounds. In fact it's excellent; drip feeding information into its (admittedly slender) storyline to keep you involved. Well-written and cleverly plotted, I too stayed up longer than I should to finish it. I don't think I can read the sequel which involves a werewolf, as it probably isn't out over here yet. But I will.
Which is the first Charlie Bone book then? There appear to be many.
It's the early eighteen hundreds; Napoleon is rampaging through Europe with only the English to stop him with muskets, cannon and dragons. Yep, dragons. Set in our world (except, you know...with dragons) the book follows the Celestial dragon Temeraire and his Captain, Laurence, as Temeraire is sent back to his native land of China encountering French Naval attacks, sea serpents and political intrigue.
When I heard the concept for the novel (after reports that the film rights have been optioned) I just had to read it. While it's not quite what I expected; being more of a journey to and in a foreign land than a story of aerial battles to for King and Country (though some are included), the book is well rounded and satisfying.
If you're inclined towards fantasy it's well worth a look if you can't stomach the notion of a talking dragon being used as a flying platform off of which twenty-odd guys can drop bombs on ships then it's probably not for you.
Twilight - Stephanie Meyer
Well Jennie was quite correct when she said that this was a novel about the relationship between a vampire and a teenage girl: That is pretty much the plot of the book (apart from some action and danger chapters which provide an end point). Jennie was also quite correct when she said that it is a lot better than it sounds. In fact it's excellent; drip feeding information into its (admittedly slender) storyline to keep you involved. Well-written and cleverly plotted, I too stayed up longer than I should to finish it. I don't think I can read the sequel which involves a werewolf, as it probably isn't out over here yet. But I will.
Which is the first Charlie Bone book then? There appear to be many.
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