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Grand unified books thread

Started by Syt, March 16, 2009, 01:52:42 AM

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The Brain

Quote from: Admiral Yi on May 13, 2012, 07:08:16 AM
I'm about half way through my Smiley books and the realization struck me that Le Carre writes very similarly to Iris Murdoch.  :D

Porn?
Women want me. Men want to be with me.

Sheilbh

Quote from: Admiral Yi on May 13, 2012, 07:08:16 AM
I'm about half way through my Smiley books and the realization struck me that Le Carre writes very similarly to Iris Murdoch.  :D
:o  I don't think so.

Though I LOVE them both :mmm:
Let's bomb Russia!

Scipio

I'm rereading the Gandalf's a Dick Trilogy for the second time.

I don't know why I like Abercrombie's stuff.  But I do.  And that scares me.

Oh, Amazon has a sale on kindle editions of 20 novels that were made into films.  99 cents each.  Including slaughterhouse Five, I Am Legend, Soylent Green, Lonely are the Brave, and others.
What I speak out of my mouth is the truth.  It burns like fire.
-Jose Canseco

There you go, giving a fuck when it ain't your turn to give a fuck.
-Every cop, The Wire

"It is always good to be known for one's Krapp."
-John Hurt

Josephus

Started the new John Irving book. :)
Civis Romanus Sum

"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world." Jack Layton 1950-2011

Darth Wagtaros

I ordered a Turtledove book through the Interlibrary loan. I feel unclean.
PDH!

Barrister

Last night I read:

The Potty Book (for boys) - surprising the kid likes this book a lot; and
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back - you know what, the Cat in the Hat is kind of a dick
Posts here are my own private opinions.  I do not speak for my employer.

Josephus

Quote from: Barrister on May 14, 2012, 01:35:40 PM
Last night I read:

The Potty Book (for boys) - surprising the kid likes this book a lot; and
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back - you know what, the Cat in the Hat is kind of a dick

Is that your opinion or your kid's?

"Daddy, I like the potty book, but that cat in the hat? Well...he's a dick."

:D
Civis Romanus Sum

"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world." Jack Layton 1950-2011

Barrister

Quote from: Josephus on May 14, 2012, 03:11:21 PM
Quote from: Barrister on May 14, 2012, 01:35:40 PM
Last night I read:

The Potty Book (for boys) - surprising the kid likes this book a lot; and
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back - you know what, the Cat in the Hat is kind of a dick

Is that your opinion or your kid's?

"Daddy, I like the potty book, but that cat in the hat? Well...he's a dick."

:D

:D

Nah, the kid loves the Cat in the Hat.  On literally every single page, if the Cat in the Hat isn't front and centre of the illustration he asks "Wheres Cat?"
Posts here are my own private opinions.  I do not speak for my employer.

Sheilbh

#1163
Quote from: Sheilbh on April 20, 2012, 09:37:15 AM
Just started Dominic Sandbrook's 'Never Had it So Good: A History of Britain from Suez to the Beatles'.  I think after this there's 'White Heat' covering the Wilson years (:mmm:) and a book on the early 70s so I've plenty to get through.

It's very interesting so far a lot of it covers the same ground as Peter Hennessy's books on the same era but with a slightly lighter touch.  I also think this is slightly better at conveying MacMillan's character.

So far though it's good.  Worth a read.
Finished this and there's two interesting features that you get from the book as a whole.  One is that it's probably the most negative book on MacMillan I've ever read.  I could be wrong but I think Sandbrook thinks other historians are rather beguiled by MacMillan because he's very interesting, intelligent, charming and witty.  His own verdict is that he is all of those things and very much a failure.  It's quite damning.  Which is an interesting corrective opinion.

The second really interesting thing at the end is the narrative of Alec Douglas Home becoming PM.  I had no idea he was quite as devious as he was.  Almost House of Cards-ish moments of manipulation going on.

I'm looking forward to the second volume - it's all about Wilson :mmm:

Edit:  Another interesting point is that the most interesting/unusual figure described is Enoch Powell.
Let's bomb Russia!

The Brain

Started on David Stevenson's With Our Backs To The Wall: Victory and Defeat in 1918. Very promising so far.
Women want me. Men want to be with me.

Gups

Quote from: Sheilbh on May 14, 2012, 06:54:01 PM
Quote from: Sheilbh on April 20, 2012, 09:37:15 AM
Just started Dominic Sandbrook's 'Never Had it So Good: A History of Britain from Suez to the Beatles'.  I think after this there's 'White Heat' covering the Wilson years (:mmm:) and a book on the early 70s so I've plenty to get through.

It's very interesting so far a lot of it covers the same ground as Peter Hennessy's books on the same era but with a slightly lighter touch.  I also think this is slightly better at conveying MacMillan's character.

So far though it's good.  Worth a read.
Finished this and there's two interesting features that you get from the book as a whole.  One is that it's probably the most negative book on MacMillan I've ever read.  I could be wrong but I think Sandbrook thinks other historians are rather beguiled by MacMillan because he's very interesting, intelligent, charming and witty.  His own verdict is that he is all of those things and very much a failure.  It's quite damning.  Which is an interesting corrective opinion.

The second really interesting thing at the end is the narrative of Alec Douglas Home becoming PM.  I had no idea he was quite as devious as he was.  Almost House of Cards-ish moments of manipulation going on.

I'm looking forward to the second volume - it's all about Wilson :mmm:

Edit:  Another interesting point is that the most interesting/unusual figure described is Enoch Powell.

Shelf - Have you tried Kynaston's books - (so far) Austerity Britain and Family Britain?

If not, you'd like 'em a lot

The Brain

Quote from: The Brain on May 31, 2012, 10:16:06 AM
Started on David Stevenson's With Our Backs To The Wall: Victory and Defeat in 1918. Very promising so far.

And I finished it. It was excellent. Recommended.

I also started reading All The Kaiser's Men: The Life and Death of the German Soldier on the Western Front by Ian Passingham, but turned out it was horrible so I stopped after less than 20 pages. The inaccurate sweeping statements, self-contradictions and cereal box depth of analysis made it obvious that the author is less well equipped for intellectual pursuits.
Women want me. Men want to be with me.

Darth Wagtaros

Star Force.  Worth finishing the series I guess. ?
PDH!

Threviel

Just finished reading The Somme by Peter Hart. Fuck WW1 was a disgusting clusterfuck. Good book, but a little one-sided with very little about what the Germans were doing.

So, anyne have any tip about a book from the german perspective on the western front?

Barrister

Quote from: Barrister on May 14, 2012, 01:35:40 PM
Last night I read:

The Potty Book (for boys) - surprising the kid likes this book a lot; and
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back - you know what, the Cat in the Hat is kind of a dick

For a kid who isn't potty trained, my kid every nights asks for "Potty Book" at story time.

:unsure:
Posts here are my own private opinions.  I do not speak for my employer.