Grand unified books thread

[Barrister]

Read Master and Commander  -  apart from not being entirely sure I understood what part of the ship he was talking about most of the time, I enjoyed the book and I am on to the second in the series.

I suspect one needs a kind of Grumbleresque first hand knowledge of tall ships to really enjoy this one.

Just let the terminology wash over you without trying to understand what it means, and they are wonderful, wonderful stories.

I read the first then obsessively read the remaining 19 in the span of 18 months.

[Malthus]

Just read The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson (in English translation, natch). It's one of the best historical fiction works I've read - I particularly enjoyed the author's dry, understated humour.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Ships

It's an awesome book. Bengtsson's writing style was always great.

Btw, his Life of Charles XII could possibly be of interest. It's non-fiction and obviously somewhat dated, but his writing is excellent.

Heh, I really do love his style. I'll have a look to see if there is a good English translation available of that bio. What a pity that The Long Ships is his only work of fiction!

Thanks for the tip! 

[Malthus]

Read Master and Commander  -  apart from not being entirely sure I understood what part of the ship he was talking about most of the time, I enjoyed the book and I am on to the second in the series.

I suspect one needs a kind of Grumbleresque first hand knowledge of tall ships to really enjoy this one.

9 out of 10 debauched sloths agree. 

[Darth Wagtaros]

Read Master and Commander  -  apart from not being entirely sure I understood what part of the ship he was talking about most of the time, I enjoyed the book and I am on to the second in the series.

I suspect one needs a kind of Grumbleresque first hand knowledge of tall ships to really enjoy this one.

I have a book called something like A Glossary for the Aubrey and Maturin series or some such that explains it all.

[The Brain]

I think Languish knows all the technical terms for buggery, thank you very much.

[crazy canuck]

I think Languish knows all the technical terms for buggery, thank you very much.

[Josephus]

Read Master and Commander  -  apart from not being entirely sure I understood what part of the ship he was talking about most of the time, I enjoyed the book and I am on to the second in the series.

I suspect one needs a kind of Grumbleresque first hand knowledge of tall ships to really enjoy this one.

Stern=rear or aft-most part of ship.

Bow=front or foremost part of ship.

[The Brain]

Poop deck is where the magic happens.

[Josephus]

I just thought they pooped off the deck.

[Jacob]

I enjoyed the Aubrey & Maturin series immensely, up until about the 10th or 11th book in the series. So enjoy the trip CC

[Jacob]

My most recent read was River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh - the second in the trilogy after Sea of Poppies.

The action primarily takes place in Shanghai. It's interesting to see bits on the opium trade and wars from a different perspective than usual, but overall I thought the book a little more disjointed than what I had come to expect.

[jimmy olsen]

Anyways, with regards to A Memory of Light, I really loved the second half of the book. However the first half could have been better, there's just so much going on that isn't completely fleshed out. The 1st 24 chapters should really have been expanded into their own 8-900 page book. The second half would only need a prologue and a little fleshing out here and there to make it's own complete 500 page novel.

[garbon]

Agent of Byzantium was good.

Bearable? Sure. Good?

[Darth Wagtaros]

Agent of Byzantium was good.

Bearable? Sure. Good?

I was young and remember it being good.


Just finished Memory of Light. Enjoyed it.

[Josephus]

Anyone else notice the price of paperbacks has soared over the past year? New paperbacks are now going for close to $20. (Cdn)