Lea Posted August 15, 2008 Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 I had no idea this thread was locked until I saw Radhi's post last night. I love this thread Thanks for unlocking it 10P I just finished Relic and Reliquary both by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. They are both Pendergast books and Reliquary was a sequel to Relic. I love this series. I did like the second book better then the first. I gave the first one a 3 star rating and the second a 4 star rating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edna Posted August 15, 2008 Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 I´m reading novels by Andreï Makine, a Russian writer who writes in French... it´s easy to read and as I work so much lately, I enjoy those quite not-complicated books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 I read Persepolis by Marjane Sartrapi. It's a biography, but it's illustrated, so I guess it can be called a graphic biography. It was kind of in the same vein as Maus. She tells about growing up in Iran during the Iranian Revolution and subsequent Iran/Iraq war. She is my age, so maybe that's why it struck a chord. I hated having to put it down, but hey, I have to sleep sometime! 10/10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted September 1, 2008 Report Share Posted September 1, 2008 over the last couple of days I read Measuring the World ("Die Vermessung der Welt") by Daniel Kehlmann Playing in the early 19th century, it's a semi-historical account of two very famous scientists and their very different approach to "measure the world". Alexander von Humboldt is doing an extensive expedition to and through South America with his "assistent" Aimé Bonpland (their hallucinations are great ). The other one, child-prodigy and misanthropic (think of Dr House here) Carl Friedrich Gauss never travels more than a couple of miles outside of his hometown. The one thing both have in common is their fanaticism when it comes to science The book isn't scientific, as it may seem may seem now, much more it has a very wry humour, eg when Gauss jumps up from bed on his wedding night to write down a formula he just thought of, when Humboldt encounters some electric eels while bathing in a river and doesn't get out as fast as possible, but grabs them and studies their electric shocks until his arms and hands are too numb to write anything down. Or when the two of them finally meet and Humboldt completely freezes while shaking Gauss' hand, whispering out of the corner of his mouth that the guy with the strange looking box is called Daguerre, and that they improved his methods so that they now only have to stand still for 30 minutes and maybe they'll get a picture of this "historic meeting" Goethe, Kant and Thomas Jefferson have camoe appearances as well all in all a very enjoyable book, 9/10 and a Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levis Posted September 14, 2008 Report Share Posted September 14, 2008 I just finished The Plot Against America by Philip Roth. Wiki calls it an 'alternate history'. It tells the story from the first person perspective of a child growing up in the 1940s. Except - it assumes the Charles Lindbergh wins the presidential election against Roosevelt and consequently decides not to send America to war against the Axis powers. It's a very terrifying 'what if...?' story about anti-semitism and KuKluxKlanning in America. Fictional - while using real people as the protagonists - but so realistic that I had to periodically check up the wiki to get my facts straight. What makes it really eerie is knowing that even though it's specualation, the groups mentioned actually do exist and probably would do exactly what the book describes, were a similar situation to prevail. A very good book, no doubt about it. But it raises quite a few ethical questions about how it portrays real people (Charles Lindbergh, Walter Winchell, Christians, Jews). I couldn't go through it again, though. I give it an objective 8/10 and a subjective 6/10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edna Posted September 14, 2008 Report Share Posted September 14, 2008 Interesting. Your comment made me want to read that book... I have 3 Amélie Nothomb books, 3 Andreï Malkine and two big History books to start/end by now. I just do´t have the time. I wish I had two weeks off so I could read them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 If somebody still needs some ideas for what to read: Top 10 Most Disturbing Novels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 The synopsis for #10 (Misery)is wrong, as one of the commentors explains....certain events in "Misery" were toned down (believe it or not) for the film. In the book, a lot worse than ankle breaking happens to Paul. I couldn't sleep after I read that part of the book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted September 30, 2008 Report Share Posted September 30, 2008 I read that too when I skimmed over the comments, and there the author of the list agreed that he'll change that fact soon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foolonthehill Posted October 1, 2008 Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 I just read "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls. Excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miamisammy29 Posted October 1, 2008 Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 I just read Foolonthehill's review of "The Glass Castle". It, too, was excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 I'm terribly amused by #4 on the list of Most Disturbing Books. Not the subject matter, just the title alone .... 4. We Need To Talk About Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted October 26, 2008 Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 I'm reading Richard III right now (I've to read a play a week this semester), and I'm kinda getting into it A month ago I was just as confused and bored by the plays as I thought I'd be, but now I'm even finding the 'funny' bits funny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Joe Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 That Shakespeare kid kinda grows on ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earth-Angel Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Read "Eclipse" by Stephanie Meyer on the weekend (it's the 3rd in the series) and although it is a little cheesey (her writing style is a little immature in places), the story is still very good and enjoyable More a teen romance/fantasy, but I enjoyed it all the same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted December 2, 2008 Report Share Posted December 2, 2008 I just finished Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. It took me two months, and I'm usually a fast reader, but there were so many things to think about and so much happened in it that I had to put it down again every four or five pages. Towards the end it got a little too much though... everything was connected to everything else, and every little detail had a meaning that popped up again fifty pages later. I'll give it 9/10 for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted December 5, 2008 Report Share Posted December 5, 2008 The Tragedy of Coriolanus That guy is the most annoying Shakespeare character I've encountered so far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lea Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 I was listening to Extreme Measures by Vince Flynn when the terrorists hit India. It was really scary how that book kind of paralleled some of the events that took place in India. I like the Flynn books that portray the Mitch Rapp character. He is a counter-terrorism specialist. The book focused a lot on how the Geneva Convention hinders government officials from obtaining information from known captured terrorists before they can enter a country and start killing people. The book of course was fiction but something that could and is most likely happening all over the world. Worrisome stuff. As far as fiction books of this kind go I'd give it a 7/10. I am now listening to Dark Rivers of the Heart by Dean Koontz. Typical Koontz fair not sure how I'd rate it but it does keep me entertained Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindCrime Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 I'm reading 1984 by George Orwell and listening to it on MP3 disc at the same time, allowing the voice to read to me as I read along. It's a personal favorite of mine, and it's also where I got my username. 8.3 / 10 Interesting, but implausibly theoritical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLizard Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 I love that book too. Funny though, I always thought that your username implied that you're a Queensryche fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindCrime Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 I love Queensryche, and Operation Mindcrime is my favorite CD by them but the name comes from a chapter in 1984. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lea Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 and it's also where I got my username. Really? That was also one of my favorite books in school along with Fahrenheit 2000 and the one about the English boys marooned on an island. I can't remember the name now but I'm sure someone here will. I probably listen to 2 or more audio books a week. I love them. I was always a big reader but now my eyesight isn't so great so audios are perfect for me. I'm really to young to have eyesight this bad. I use about the strongest reading glasses I can find Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Really? That was also one of my favorite books in school along with Fahrenheit 2000 Fahrenheit 451? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Really? That was also one of my favorite books in school along with Fahrenheit 2000 and the one about the English boys marooned on an island. I can't remember the name now but I'm sure someone here will. Oh oh... uh... Lord of the Flies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lea Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 That would be the one ya little mind like a steel trap kid Just wait till you get old and see how great your memory is So whats the name of the other book I mentioned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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