Postage Stamp Chat Board & Stamp Bulletin Board Forum
 

Recent holiday reads included:

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (rattles along at a great pace as usual with his tales)

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (as strange as Time Travellers Wife, but a very good read nonetheless)

Bill Hicks: "Love All the People".

A collection of letters, lyrics and routines from my favorite stand-up comedian.

A modern classic.....'Pride and Prejudice....and Zombies'

a graphic novel.

_________________
It's good to shoot the breeze with like-minded people.

I've been lately reading Early Shadows. It's a collection of Ray Bradbury's early short stories from Weird Tales.

_________________
See pics of my latest stamp findings at Stamp Collecting Blog.

Terry Pratchett's "Sourcery" .... great comedy from the king of comic fantasy!

I read an actual 'paper' book this week..........it was extremely annoying having to hold open pages and being careful with the binding.... ebook readers are sooooooo much easier!

_________________
It's good to shoot the breeze with like-minded people.

I'm reading good old Tom Sawyer (although, admittedly, I do have to write an essay on it). When they holidays come around again, it'll be Hammond Innes' books all the way, because I brought 10 of his books on ebay for only $5!+

_________________
My blog, if you're interested: petitmondemoi.blogspot.com

The Rommel Papers

edited by B.H. Liddell Hart

I am reading "Lyonesse" book 1 of a trilogy by Jack Vance, the best SF&F writer ever.

cheers

alex

_________________
Focus on the positive

Just finished an album of Pearls Before Swine, the "Sgt. Piggy's Lonely Hearts Club Comic." Really love the cynical humor.

David Keirsey. "Please Understand Me".
Interesting Extracts:



If I do not want what you want, please try not to tell me that my want is wrong.

Or if I believe other than you, at least pause before you correct my view.

Or if my emotion is less than yours, or more, given the same circumstances, try not to ask me to feel more strongly or weakly.

Or yet if I act, or fail to act, in the manner of your design for action, let me be.

I do not, for the moment at least, ask you to understand me. That will come only when you are willing to give up changing me into a copy of you.

I may be your spouse, your parent, your offspring, your friend, or your colleague. If you will allow me any of my own wants, or emotions, or beliefs, or actions, then you open yourself, so that some day these ways of mine might not seem so wrong, and might finally appear to you as right -- for me. To put up with me is the first step to understanding me. Not that you embrace my ways as right for you, but that you are no longer irritated or disappointed with me for my seeming waywardness. And in understanding me you might come to prize my differences from you, and, far from seeking to change me, preserve and even nurture those differences.

Just finished reading "The Book of Numbers - The Secret of Numbers and How They Changed the World" by Peter J. Bentley.

Highly recommendable IMHO.... I think this book helped me properly understand a lot of the "math stuff" (something my high school teachers never managed to )

_________________
See pics of my latest stamp findings at Stamp Collecting Blog.

Just about finished with Term Limits by Vince Flynn

_________________
Fellowship of Samoa Specialists is not just for specialists: http://www.samoaexpress.org/
Marty

All Quiet on the Western Front. I've read it before, but it's required reading for my European History class, so I figured I better re-read it! Brilliant book either way.

_________________
Lover of all things KGVI.

Rocannon's World by Ursula K.LeGuin ... It's an interesting piece of SciFi & fantasy writing. Definitely worth reading

_________________
See pics of my latest stamp findings at Stamp Collecting Blog.

I hope what you purchased included The Land God Gave to Cain - his best work by a long stretch, followed by The Lonely Skier, and then probably The Wreck of the Mary Deare

Norm

_________________
Geelong, VFA Premiers 1878, 1879, 1800, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, AFL Premiers 1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007, 2009, 2011, .

I'm halfway through with The Darling Buds of May by H.E.Bates... Excellent "feel good" book IMHO.

_________________
See pics of my latest stamp findings at Stamp Collecting Blog.

An omnibus of three novels by PD James.

To describe them as 'whodunnits' would be a disservice as the writing style is excellent and the typical British police tales provide plenty of mental exercise.

_________________
Here to learn
Here to enjoy

Just finished Underboss by Peter Maas, the story told by Sammy "The Bull" Gravano who turned states evidence on John Gati.
the Famous New York Crime Boss, fantastic read.

Just cracking the cover on The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson

_________________
"Life is a tough Teacher, it gives you the test first and the lesson later"
Anonymous

At work (lunchtime reading) I am just starting the Long Song by Andrea Levy and at home am reading the Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly.
Two authors that I very much enjoy

_________________
Bonfiregirl
I'll always remember the fifth of November

Gardening Australia (January Edition), Japanese for Busy People by AJALT, and Tokyo Panorama (a landscape picture book of landscape shots of Tokyo). O-yasumi nasai

Just finished 'Nowhere man' by John Green

Reading 'The tiger that isnt' by Blastland and Dilnot. Great reading to explain those numbers we see in the media and whether we should take notice of them or query further.

'Alex's adventures in numberland' by Alex Bellos, makes maths thinking fun.

_________________
jellybean

White Eagle Red Star by Norman Davies

Going to start re-reading the 6 volume set on World War 11 by Churchill but wanted to first to read other histories of Europe leading up to the war.

Gary
Are those the big hardback books?

Think my Dad tracked a set down and has read them.

Not my fancy though I believe they are interesting

_________________
jellybean

Yes they are the 6 vol set from Houghton Mifflin Company Boston, copyright 1950. Already half finished with Vol 1, I must say Churchill besides everything else he was a great writer, very detailed in his retelling events and even quite good at the "DRY British" [sic] humor.

They will keep you busy for a good while.

Probably should read more about Churchill - pretty amazing bloke from all accounts. Love the betrayal of him in Doc Who!

_________________
jellybean

The Rare Adventures and Painful Peregrinations of William Lithgow.
First published in the mid-17th century, this is a page turner!
Lithgow was a Scotsman who walked absolutely everywhere.

His first jaunt was from Paris to Egypt, via Italy and Greece; the second from London to eastern Europe via the Sahara desert (not the most direct route) and the third to Spain, where he fell foul of the Inquisition, so that he could not go walking again.

So far he has been robbed, beaten and swindled several times but always wins through. He has also done his bit of theiving and been very dishonest, at times.

It's all quite rivetting stuff.

'The World's Wonders', published 1884; full of beautiful illustrations & engravings...tells true stories of early polar & tropical explorers.........

Currently on Mercenaries by Jack Ludlow. Ok but not really grabbing me.

I will read anything covering the years 400-1400AD military fiction.

So Bernard Cornwell gets a big thumbs up for the Grail Trilogy as does Conn Iggulden`s Genghis Khan series. Top of my list has to be Robert Low`s Oathsworn series----Totally brilliant.

The Vanished Diamond by Jules Verne...Highly attractive book in my opinion.

_________________
See pics of my latest stamp findings at Stamp Collecting Blog.

Spy Catcher by Peter Wright.

The book that British Intelligence tried to ban. An interesting story but not exactly a riveting read. Perhaps I have read too many fiction spy stories.

_________________
Here to learn
Here to enjoy

Shantaram by G.D.Roberts
and
Stanley Gibbons - Australia

I'm multitasking at the moment. Reading three "books" including:

I Sniper by Stephen Hunter (murder mystery/intrique)
Watchmen (graphic novel from mid-1980s and NOT your typical superhero story)
Walking Dead series (again graphic novels that have recently been adapted into a television series)

Eric

_________________
Wife and kids....stamps....running....film-making....who has time to work!

Some time ago I finished reading Pierre Rey's The Greek, which told indirectly about Aristoteles Onassis, Maria Callas, the Kennedys and some other celebrities. Not bad.

Now I am on Mario Puzo's The Goodfather. If you know the movie but haven't read the book, I suggest reading the book, because it tells more about American gangsters and mafia. The criminal activity of the Corleone family was hidden behind importing olive oil from Sicily.

_________________
What you send around comes around

I could never understand why the Brits got out the worry-beads over this book - 'Trevanian' went into far more detail with his "fictional" accounts in 'The Loo Sanction' and 'The Main'.

I've just picked up an old friend, written by Noah Gordon called 'The Last Jew'. I read it a few years ago, which led me to hunt out his other works. Gordon put an enormous amount of research into his books, and The Last Jew is a compelling read about medicine, religion, and racism, in 15th century Europe.

Apart from that, I've only got about 7-8 histories on various Victorian towns and districts on the go. I'm learning more about my home-state every day

_________________
FORESTS OLD, PASTURES NEW
(An expert is one who knows more and more, about less and less)

I'm reading Hot Zone (by Richard Preston) in English class.

Gruesome true story about the Ebola and Marburg outbreaks in the early 1980's.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/marburg.htm

A Prison Diary Volume 1 Jeffery Archer

I am currently on the 8th day of his prison sentence.

He mentions a 'lifer' who had been out of prison after servings many years inside. He needed to go to the bank and stood outside until someone opened the door.

Why?

Because there were no handles on the inside of the cell doors and he had not opened a door himself for years.

_________________
Here to learn
Here to enjoy

I am re-reading John Bryson's Evil Angels which, as every Australian will know is about how Lindy Chamberlain was essentially crucified by the Australian press, and public, when her baby daughter Azaria was taken by a dingo from their tent when they were camping at Uluru (Ayers Rock).

It is a great analysis of how the press and public opinion can get in the way of scientific facts, genuine analysis, and Bureaucratic self defence mechanisms, and how the public can be swayed by inuendo.

I was one of the ones who, in the early days, believed that Lindy was guilty, and that is something I have to live with. But this case is something that taught me to be sceptical about any claim where evidence is lacking, and has helped me grow.

Norm

_________________
Geelong, VFA Premiers 1878, 1879, 1800, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, AFL Premiers 1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963, 2007, 2009, 2011, .

I'm sure Lindy Chamberlain's seeming lack of emotion made the public believe she may have done it.

And I'm reading Peter FitzSimons' book "Batavia", mainly because I had dinner aboard the full size replica ship while it was in Sydney about 10 years or so ago and wanted to read more on the ship's background.

How 220 crew actually lived on board that relatively small ship is mind numbing.

No wonder he describes the book as "a true, adults only version of Lord of the Flies meets A Nightmare on Elm Street"

_________________
Tony

I'm reading a Finnish short story anthology called "Verenhimo", which translates as "Bloodlust". Essentially it's "what if vampires had dwelled Finland" type of book with 'grim and gritty' stories & surprising approaches to theme.

_________________
See pics of my latest stamp findings at Stamp Collecting Blog.

I am almost finished reading Fall of Giants by Ken Follett.

This is Book One of the Century Trilogy and I hope it does not take too long for the other books to be written.

The period covered in this novel is 1911 to 1923. The protagonists are Welsh, English, Russian, German, Americans and others. A good deal of the action is on the Western Front and other settings include the Welsh coal mines, Washington, Petrograd, Vladivostok and London.

Follett's many titles include Eye of the Needle, The Key to Rebecca and the iconic The Pillars of the Earth. This latest story will simply add to his reputation.

_________________
Here to learn
Here to enjoy

Just finished "Betrayed" by John Lescroart. Good story.

_________________
Fellowship of Samoa Specialists is not just for specialists: http://www.samoaexpress.org/
Marty

Well, I didn't see any post about it so I figured I'd make my own for hopefully fellow bookworms to gather! So... Book, magazine, article, instructions of how to make ramen noodles, doesn't matter! Just post what the last thing you read was and a description if you think other users would be interested! I'll start:

The last thing I read was a fantasy novel called Drylor The First Artifact.

Description from amazon:

When a man wakes up inside a cage that is being carried through an underground city, he has no idea where he is or what has happened to him. As Von, a victim of amnesia, is taken to a jail cell to await his fate amongst elves, humans, dwarfs, gnomes, and halflings, he is told he is a member of the Royal Guard of Genisus. It is not long before he is transported to the palace where he meets an impatient king who eventually returns him to his jail cell while deciding his destiny. As Von's memory slowly returns, he discovers that he is the only one who can protect Drylor-a world that abandoned him-from its greatest evil, his own brother. Through his journey to the truth, Von meets an unlikely group of friends who are willing to sacrifice everything to help him stop his brother Scarlet from annihilating the only world they have ever known. As Von's past becomes clear and reveals his future, he soon realizes the only way he can end his brother's heartless massacres is to find him and kill him.

There is actually a thread like this, have a look here: http://www.stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=12861&start=200

The last thing I read was for University, Ethel Turner's Seven Little Australians. Not a bad little tale, nice to read something that's not too dense and academic for a change

_________________
My blog, if you're interested: petitmondemoi.blogspot.com

Half way through Tripwire by Lee Child

_________________
Fellowship of Samoa Specialists is not just for specialists: http://www.samoaexpress.org/
Marty

Jeffrey Archer "Cat O' Nine Tales" Short stories.

_________________
Truth is the daughter of time

"Rage" by J. Kellerman

_________________
Fellowship of Samoa Specialists is not just for specialists: http://www.samoaexpress.org/
Marty

Currently I am reading Herman Hesse - Stories of Five Decades

It´s a collection of short stories by Herman Hesse presented in chronological order and spanning the years 1899 to 1948.

From the back cover. .... Stories concerned with secret dreams....his own bitter anguish...lifelong quest to penetrate the mysteries of man´s inner reality.
......rewarding......hypnotically vivid and lyrical story-telling.....a kind of dream journey......strange and beautiful prose......

All the above is true I reckon. And funnily enough this book was given to me in 1986 and try as I did over the years to read past the second short story I never really could.

Perhaps it´s been the rediscovery of stamp collecting that has endowed me with the patience to read slowly enough to understand and digest what I couldn´t earlier.
Either way it´s great stuff.