The Book Thread

Originally Posted by Venom

Discworld

Finished 'Unseen Academicals' and 'I Shall Wear Midnight' which were ok. Looking forward to the next one though as it's about the City Watch and I love reading about Vimes. Him and the Death books are what got me into the series

I must agree, love every one of the discworld series, my favourites generally include the watch and rincewind, am currently re-reading Thud. Not a huge fan of the tiffany aching novels, I personally find them the weakest of the discworld series.

Skull session - by Daniel Hecht was the last book i read. It was amazing, so much so i read it twice back to back. The storyline has some amazing twists and is probably the only book I would read for a third time. It takes time to get going but stick with it, its worth it.

well any kathy reichs, karen slaughter,dan brown, will adams. andything really that counts as a crime or conspiricy theory im there, i also like the lighter reads such as harry potter and lord of the rings, not all blood n gore:0

[Kalessin]

At the top of my list: anything by Robin Hobb, with the Farseer books standing head and shoulders above the rest.

I also like Patricia Cornwell crime books, bought a load of them from market for a quid each

Originally Posted by skidmarx

If you like 'The Black Swan' by Taleb, you may like 'The Fabric of Reality' by Deutch. It's from a similar POV but far more fundamental. Awesome read, the sequel 'The beginning of infinity' is however seriously laborious unless you're really keen. All that stuff however has it's route with Karl Popper, if you like it, there is a lot more out there! I'm a big fan. But it's not popular and it's not the only perspective. If you want a challenge along similar lines to Taleb, try 'Information Theory and Evolution' by John Avery. Awesome!

Thanks for the suggestions Skids, will definitely give those a go. Just started The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, interesting read so far. You heard of Bad Science by Ben Goldacre? Was recommended by my brother in law so got that from the library, yet to start it though.

[garynortheast]

Reread "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" by Robert M Pirsig just recently after a gap of 30 years from the first read.Understood it a lot better this time round. Now reading the sequel "Lila".
Other books...
"Data and computer communications", William Stalling
"Roadcraft"
"The Prophet" Kahlil Gibran - been reading and rereading it for the last 25 years.

Reminds me, need some good books for my hols. It's the only time I get to read. Recommendations please.

[Biker Biggles]

Originally Posted by garynortheast

Reread "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" by Robert M Pirsig just recently after a gap of 30 years from the first read.Understood it a lot better this time round. Now reading the sequel "Lila".
Other books...
"Data and computer communications", William Stalling
"Roadcraft"
"The Prophet" Kahlil Gibran - been reading and rereading it for the last 25 years.

Ah yes
Roadcraft------Gripping stuff especially the bit about skids.

All sorts:
Iain M Banks - awesome scifi. His fiction (as plain Iain Banks) is a mixed bag although i really enjoyed Espedair Street
Richard K Morgan - Altered Carbon is one the best debut scifi novels ever written and the follow-ups are also excellent
William Gibson - invented the term "cyberspace". Genius, if a little heavy going sometimes
Peter F Hamilton - good large space operas
Kevin J Anderson - Saga Of The Seven Suns is great fun, you can see a miniseries in your mind as you read it
Frank Herbert - Dune series. 'Nuff said
Larry Niven - has written some cracking books (Ringworld books are very good) and also "duets" with people like Jerry Pournelle
Also on the scifi front - Alastair Reynolds, China Mieville, Charles Stross, Steven Baxter, Gary Gibson, Neal Asher
Crime fiction? Peter James is pretty good, the stories are based in Brighton which isn't far down the road so adds extra reality to it. Just read the first "Camel Club" David Baldacci - that was excellent. Linwood Barclay and Lisa Gardner are both very readable.
Just getting into Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, still have a soft spot for Lord Of The Rings, read all the Harry Potter books. Rad nearly all of Ben Elton's efforts too, mostly very good.

Oh, Kenzie, the best fictional Vietnam book is "Fields Of Fire" by James Webb. No contest. And non-fiction - "A Bright Shining Lie" by Neil Sheehan.