Planet Rugby Forum

Ramming Speed wrote:

jdogscoop wrote:Has anyone read My Life with Mr S by one of Sinatra's former staff?

I must get my hands on a copy. I bet it's fvcking outrageous. I believe one of his terms of endearment for his former boss was "The Prince of Pussy".

For a while, at least. It seems that little Frank's farewell tour was a few years before big Frank's. Not even a penile implant was able to get him back on the road.

I just ordered a copy from the UK. Unfortunately I just noticed the pre-fill booked my name the same as my street name. That might prove challenging when Mr Street turns up at the post office to collect his book.

The lucky ones by Mark Edwards.

Bindi wrote:Just finished the Divine Cities trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett. Absolutely superb. Up there with China Mieville's Bas-Lag books. If your into speculative fiction, highly highly recommended. Every book is superb. Bit of a golden age for that genre at the moment.

? Sci-fi effectively?

Just finished moving my sister into her new home and in unpacking her library I realise she has 5 Terry Pratchett Discworld books that I haven't read.

Yet.

Floppykid wrote:

Bindi wrote:Just finished the Divine Cities trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett. Absolutely superb. Up there with China Mieville's Bas-Lag books. If your into speculative fiction, highly highly recommended. Every book is superb. Bit of a golden age for that genre at the moment.

? Sci-fi effectively?

No fantasy, but not your typical, great characters and storytelling set in an original setting, it's not medieval England for starters. Involves gods but really it's the characters that shine.

Anyone read Zadig?

Any good books on the Oligarchic lootfest that was Russia a couple decades ago?

Finally got round to this one. Been sitting on my shelf for a few years and I am so annoyed I did not read it earlier. Best laugh I've had from a book for many a year.

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared

Finished "Against a dark background" by Banks last night. Had somehow missed it before, until my dad was talking about it.

Very good, huge amount of creativity and environments jammed into one book. Build up to the climax was bleak as fudge.

Just finished this.



About to start on the next in the series, ''Between the Woods and the Water''

Demilich wrote:

Nieghorn wrote:I acquired The Wheel of Time books 1-7 for free last night from the local public library (means no one's really read them in years ) I was going to transfer them to the school library I work at, but realised it already has Books 1-10. (I'm new, and building it up as best I can, having just sorted out the mess.)


Question for those who've read it, seeing as I'm keeping this series for myself now ... It's been hinted that books 7-10 are boring, that Jordan's last (couple?) pick up the pace and the posthumous ghost writer really did it justice with Jordan's notes.

Can / should I skip those boring books, or are the events essential - even if boring - to get to the end?

No. Don't even start reading them. Gift them to a kid you don't like.

This, unfortunately.

I was a big fan whilst a teenager, but the series becomes really slow and just plain bad around book 8. Jordan couldn't write female characters, throughout the series. I really enjoyed books 1-4, books 5,6,7 are OK-ish, then things go bad. The conclusion of the series was really a bit 'meh' for me, there is just so much crap to wade through from book 6 onwards, I finished the series purely because I started it, and had fond memories of getting into it as a teenager.

Start reading book 1, you may just like it. I still think the first 4 are good fantasy novels.

If you are looking to read an "epic fantasy series", read Steven Erikson's 'Malazan Book of the Fallen'. 10 Books, already completed and it some of the best fantasy I have read, IMHO.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/ ... ret-atwood

2017 100 bestselling books

Over 10% of them by David Walliams

Boobs not Moobs wrote:https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/ ... ret-atwood

2017 100 bestselling books

Over 10% of them by David Walliams

Is that the best selling UK books?

I am currently reading Martin Meridith's The Fate of Africa. What depressing reading.

Just finished Patchwork man by DB Martin. Looking forward to the next

A standing ovation from me for Golden Hill, by Francis Spufford. Beautifully written story of an English visitor to New York in 1746, great plotting, historical detail and literary pastiche. Finished it in two days, absolutely outstanding.

Fangle wrote:

Boobs not Moobs wrote:https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/ ... ret-atwood

2017 100 bestselling books

Over 10% of them by David Walliams

Is that the best selling UK books?

I am currently reading Martin Meridith's The Fate of Africa. What depressing reading.

Truly depressing reading.

On the first book in the Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu. Pretty good so far although I think something(s) may have been lost in translation. Still, not too bad. Trying to get my daughter interested in the Artemis Fowl books.

Man In Black wrote:

Floppykid wrote:Any good books on the Oligarchic lootfest that was Russia a couple decades ago?

Look for something called "Nothing is sacred and everything is possible" by Peter Pomerantsev. The title and author might be wrong but they are similar enough if you google them.

Try also...

His name is mud in Russia, but the brazenness of the villainy he describes is breathtaking.

I saw a mention of Patrick Leigh Fermor earlier. Anyone interested in his circle would enjoy Outlandish Knight, a biography of Steven Runciman by Minoo Dinshaw. Very entertaining stories of amateur espionage in the Balkans and Levant in the war involving PLF, among many other delights.

Ramming Speed wrote:

Man In Black wrote:

Floppykid wrote:Any good books on the Oligarchic lootfest that was Russia a couple decades ago?

Look for something called "Nothing is sacred and everything is possible" by Peter Pomerantsev. The title and author might be wrong but they are similar enough if you google them.

Try also...

His name is mud in Russia, but the brazenness of the villainy he describes is breathtaking.

A shining endorsement.

Just finished this, and it was absolutely fantastic. A little sympathetic to the Bolsheviks, but who isn't? Having said that, he doesn't hesitate to criticise them either. Extremely readable, and really captures the chaos of 1917.

Mieville is a top notch writer. Really liked the one with two cities (forget the name)

Wilderbeast wrote:Mieville is a top notch writer. Really liked the one with two cities (forget the name)

The City and the City??? Didn't realise until now that 1. Mieville did anything other than sci-fi/fantasy and that he was male.

flaggETERNAL wrote:

Wilderbeast wrote:Mieville is a top notch writer. Really liked the one with two cities (forget the name)

The City and the City??? Didn't realise until now that 1. Mieville did anything other than sci-fi/fantasy and that he was male.

You'd like this one I reckon

Read 'all the light we cannot see' over Christmas

Excellent

Redsfan wrote:Just finished this, and it was absolutely fantastic. A little sympathetic to the Bolsheviks, but who isn't? Having said that, he doesn't hesitate to criticise them either. Extremely readable, and really captures the chaos of 1917.

Non-fiction?

City and the City certainly has socialist undertones.

Pat the Ex Mat wrote: Non-fiction?

City and the City certainly has socialist undertones.

Yep, it’s non-fiction. He’s really emphasised the narrative though, so I found it hard to put down (well, turn off in my case). Would love to see him tackle the Russian civil war in a similar fashion. It’s quite well researched, too.

I actually listened to it after I noticed I could get it from a free trial on Audible. Because it moves at a fast pace, and is only really dealing with a year or so of history, it translate to audiobook really well.

Nice, that will sequel really well from the book I was reading on the previous page!

On the subject of China Mieville I'm finding Embassytown incredibly hard-going, to the point that I've put it to one side. The conceit's brilliant but I can't recall a story where I gave so little of a fuck about the characters or the consequences of the narrative.

happyhooker wrote:Read 'all the light we cannot see' over Christmas

Excellent

Brilliant book isn’t it. Funny I’m in no way a history nerd and yet a lot of books I love are world war based..birdsong, captain Cordelia, book thief...

Brazil wrote:On the subject of China Mieville I'm finding Embassytown incredibly hard-going, to the point that I've put it to one side. The conceit's brilliant but I can't recall a story where I gave so little of a fuck about the characters or the consequences of the narrative.

I've never actually read any of his fiction, but October got me interested. I guess I'll avoid Embassytown

I had Mieville recommended to me by so many people but I was thoroughly underwhelmed by The City and The City. I just found his prose painful to read. It all seemed very affected, as if he had been reaching for the thesaurus to painstakingly craft each sentence. Also, none of the characters were interesting in the slightest and the plot was fairly meandering. Very disappointing.

I really liked his Bas-Lag trilogy.

Shooting Ghosts

Written by a former US Marine (TJ Brennan) and a war photographer(Finbar Reilly) who met when the latter was embedded with TJs unit in Afghan it tells their stories of the mental ill health issues they both endure after 3 tours and a couple of decades at war. Fins story was, ironically, more interesting to me as I can never get my head round how someone can photograph someone in their worst moments in all good conscience, fin discusses this and his struggle. A decent read if you're interested in the after effects of war.

1400 pages on my ereader, 1.5 reader page turns ish per page.

Really could have done with some editing. It didn't make it a bad book, or one I wouldn't finish but at times it did drag. Shallan's woe is me POV was done too many times, same with Dalinar's guilt POV, too much on the emotions of Shallan and Dalinar at the expense of others meant that motivations of others are left unconvincing, Moash, Szeth in particular, minor characters but with big impacts. The whole Taravangian thing and how Dalinar dealt or didn't deal with it didn't feel true to character, I assume that will be really picked up in the next book, perhaps the reveal to Dalinar shouldn't have been in this book(reader already knows). Also the who radiants thing is now confusing as to who and how. Not convinced about the mental battle towards the end with Dalinar either bit of a cop out solution to a battle that couldn't be physically won, but maybe by that point I wasn't paying attention. There's a big reveal which was very predictable as even I saw it coming, I assume the fall out from that will form the basis of the next book. However there was some interesting nuggets, spren stuff, Pardenshi (spelling), you get a bit mired with the Alethi's but you do get detours, hope he does more of that in the next.
4/5 or 7.5/10

Can the Bored Historians assist with pointing me towards the definitive versions of:

1). Europe pre WW11 - Belle Epoch, etc

2). Germany - immediately postwar. Black Market, Marshall Plan, etc

3). Japan - immediately postwar. Black Market, etc

I am very late to the party but currently reading the rebus novels by Ian Rankin, thoroughly engrossed. I just realised I am reading them in reverse order, purely by accident, just following each kindle recommendation. Rebus is getting younger and healthier by the day!

Also enjoyed SS GB by Len Deighton's over Christmas, loved the descriptions of old london

The son by phillipp meyer

Great read

Pat the Ex Mat wrote:Can the Bored Historians assist with pointing me towards the definitive versions of:

1). Europe pre WW11 - Belle Epoch, etc

2). Germany - immediately postwar. Black Market, Marshall Plan, etc

3). Japan - immediately postwar. Black Market, etc

With regards to 2 I haven't read them, I have them and they're on my reading list and the closest I have to what you're looking for
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Savage-Contine ... +continent

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... UTF8&psc=1


This came up when looking for links no idea if it's any good was originally published by simon & Schuster so can't be too bad.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Saving-Contine ... BXZBN7G479
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249 ... -continent

Magic - thanks boobs!

Redsfan wrote:

Pat the Ex Mat wrote: Non-fiction?

City and the City certainly has socialist undertones.

Yep, it’s non-fiction. He’s really emphasised the narrative though, so I found it hard to put down (well, turn off in my case). Would love to see him tackle the Russian civil war in a similar fashion. It’s quite well researched, too.

I actually listened to it after I noticed I could get it from a free trial on Audible. Because it moves at a fast pace, and is only really dealing with a year or so of history, it translate to audiobook really well.

I'm sold. Brilliant writer, though wasn't a huge fan of his last book (The Last Days of New Paris). Will give the audible version a shot too, as always wondering around listening to podcasts, so a book would be much the same, I guess.

And it’s pretty fucken good. About an hour in. About to kick off a revoltution in Australia.