Spoilers What Book Are You Reading?

[Scepticalscribe]

Another trilogy - the 'Regeneration' trilogy - that I cannot recommend highly enough is the one written by Pat Barker which is set during the First World War. This is not fantasy, rather, it is historical fiction (heavily informed by historical fact - I would class it it as fact written or presented as fiction) of the highest order.

The first book, called 'Regeneration' is set mostly in Craiglockhart Military Hospital, outside Edinburgh, in Scotland in early 1917 where both Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen were young officers recovering from shell shock. Written partly from the perspective of psychiatrist (and anthropologist, neurologist etc) Dr W H R Rivers, who treated Sassoon, this is an absolute tour-de-force, and looks at issues such as war, class, gender with forensic brilliance. The meeting - and relationship - between Sassoon and Owen is explored, as is the wonderful fact (true, as it happens) that under Sassoon's tutelage, Owen began to find his voice as a 'war poet' and both wrote some of the most extraordinary poetry in the twentieth century for the hospital magazine, 'The Hydra'.

The two sequels 'The Eye In The Door' and 'Ghost Road' bring the story up to the end of the War (November 1918), and become, if anything, even more nuanced and forensic. Pat Barker deservedly won the Booker Prize for the trilogy; as a low key, female writer from an unfashionable part of England, some expressed surprise at her topic of war and trauma, but her language is sure (she used private papers, letters and personal diaries to get the tone right and it works superbly), and her mastery of her material is absolute.

Now, these are not 'nice' books, in that the people and events depicted are not always nice. Rivers is an extraordinarily impressive character, and seems to have been that way as a human being, too. One male - who was interested in history - that I have given them to (as gifts) whined about the fact that not everyone is nice; no, they are not, (this is war), but the books are absolutely brilliant.

 

[AVBeatMan]

What Book Are You Reading?

Another trilogy I cannot recommend strongly enough is the one written by Pat Barker which is set during the First World War. This is not fantasy, rather, it is historical fiction (heavily informed by historical fact - I would class it it as fact written or presented as fiction) of the highest order.



The first book, called 'Regeneration' is set mostly in Craiglockhart Military Hospital, outside Edinburgh, in Scotland in early 1917 where both Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen were young officers recovering from shell shock. Written partly from the perspective of psychiatrist (and anthropologist, neurologist etc) Dr W H R Rivers, who treated Sassoon, this is an absolute tour-de-force, and looks at issues such as war, class, gender with forensic brilliance. The meeting - and relationship - between Sassoon and Owen is explored, as the wonderful fact (true, as it happens) that under Sassoon's tutelage, Owen began to find his voice as a 'war poet' and both wrote some of the most extraordinary poetry in the twentieth century for the hospital magazine, 'The Hydra'.



The two sequels 'The Eye In The Door' and 'Ghost Road' bring the story up to the end of the War (November 1918), and become, if anything, even more nuanced and forensic. Pat Barker deservedly won the Booker Prize for the trilogy; as a low key, female writer from an unfashionable part of England, some expressed surprise at her topic of war and trauma, but her language is sure (she used private papers, letters and personal diaries to get the tone right and it works superbly).



Now, these are not 'nice' books, in that the people and events depicted are not always nice. Rivers is an extraordinarily impressive character, and seems to have been that way as a human being, too. One male - who was interested in history -that I have given them to (as gifts) whined about the fact that not everyone is nice; no, they are not, (this is war), but the books are absolutely brilliant

Yes, I totally agree about the "Regeneration" books. I read them one after another a few years ago. I must read them again at some point. There was a tv film also made covering all 3 books but was nowhere near as good as the books.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Yes, I totally agree about the "Regeneration" books. I read them one after another a few years ago. I must read them again at some point. There was a tv film also made covering all 3 books but was nowhere near as good as the books.

My understanding is that the TV film only really dealt with the material in the first book. In any case, I agree, it was nowhere nearly as good as the books, - which are outstanding - and missed completely the rich interior life of the characters.

 

[AVBeatMan]

My understanding is that the TV film only really dealt with the material in the first book. In any case, I agree, it was nowhere nearly as good as the books, - which are outstanding - and missed completely the rich interior life of the characters.

Right, ok, you're probably right. To be honest I can't remember too much about either the books or the film. I mostly remember their time at Graiglockheart (not sure of the spelling) and the ways of treating those with mental health problems, the electric shock treatment. I'm it too sure about the progression of the books, like I say I fancy taking another look.

 

[Don't panic]

At the moment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Thieves_(novel)

I think Don't panic recommended this book a while ago. I just remembered to add it to my list.

yes i did. i enjoyed it very much.



and thanks scepticalscribe for all the infos about those series. i'll check some of them out.
so many books, so little time!
i hope to make a dent in my pile of started books sitting on my nightstand this next week.

i have the bad habit of starting books before i am done with previous books, especially if they are different "types" (fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, detective story, historical novel, etc.) with the result that sometimes some remain "in progress" for so long that i end up re-reading them from the beginning

 

[pachyderm]

the westing game and the martian simultaneously. i was going to read one after the other but i got stuck without the former so started the latter. Like them both!

 

[LadyX]

Sherman Alexie tells the story of Arnold "Junior" Spirit, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he thought he was destined to live.

 

[pachyderm]

Image

i've been wanting to read that... now i have to!

 

[CrickettGrrrl]

I'm currently reading "Three Men in a Boat, To Say Nothing of the Dog" by Jerome K. Jerome, 1889. It's a humorous English travelogue which reminds me a great deal of Mark Twain's "Life on the Mississippi" with a tiny bit of "Connecticut Yankee", all blended together with an enormous P.G. Wodehouse spoon. Wodehouse & Twain are my favorite authors so I'm enjoying this very much. Plus there is a Wire Fox Terrier, like a dash of hot sauce on top.

Terrific!

 

[juanm]

That is an excellent book; the US cover (and production values) are superb, and yes, the books do indeed get darker and darker.

Personally, I thought the (middle) three starting with 'Prisoner of Azkaban', through 'The Goblet of Fire' and concluding with 'The Order Of The Phoenix' were sustained writing (and world and character building) that were simply excellent.

I wasn't as keen on the next book in the sequence, 'The Half Blood Prince' (although it did improve on a second, subsequent reading), but the last book, 'The Deathly Hallowes' is an absolute tour de force and a fitting conclusion to the series.

I would have never pegged you for a Harry Potter reader...

Back to topic: I just finished a small submarine/cold war spree:

Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage - Sontag and Drew.
Link
It reads like a novel, but it's a history book about ins and outs of submarine espionage during the Cold War. Fascinating.

The Silent War: The Cold War Battle Beneath the Sea - Craven
Link
Submarine design during the Cold War, told by one of the main actors, as a biography.

Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines, 1945-2001 - Polmar and Moore
Link
It's quite technical, but wow, what a wealth of information

Dark Waters - Vyborny and Davis
A fascinating short book freely available here. It's a first person account by one of the plank owners of a special project submarine kept a secret even though the US Navy funnelled millions upon millions towards its development at Admiral Rickover's whim.

Now I'm just about to start Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond which my sister just gave me for Christmas. It appears to mix history, geography sociology and anthropology (alas, no submarines, I'm afraid) in an attempt to explain why we are, as a species, where we are today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns,_Germs,_and_Steel

 

[AVBeatMan]

What Book Are You Reading?

I would have never pegged you for a Harry Potter reader...

Back to topic: I just finished a small submarine/cold war spree:

Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage - Sontag and Drew.
Link
It reads like a novel, but it's a history book about ins and outs of submarine espionage during the Cold War. Fascinating.

The Silent War: The Cold War Battle Beneath the Sea - Craven
Link
Submarine design during the Cold War, told by one of the main actors, as a biography.

Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines, 1945-2001 - Polmar and Moore
Link
It's quite technical, but wow, what a wealth of information

Dark Waters - Vyborny and Davis
A fascinating short book freely available here. It's a first person account by one of the plank owners of a special project submarine kept a secret even though the US Navy funnelled millions upon millions towards its development at Admiral Rickover's whim.

Now I'm just about to start Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond which my sister just gave me for Christmas. It appears to mix history, geography sociology and anthropology (alas, no submarines, I'm afraid) in an attempt to explain why we are, as a species, where we are today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns,_Germs,_and_Steel

This has reminded me of one of my favorite books of all time. "The Cruel Sea" by Nicholas Monsarrat. This book kindled my fascination with the sea. I've also loved the books by Giles Milton. Read them all and eagerly wait for his next. (I once went into WH Smiths and picked up a copy of "Nathaniel's Nutmeg" to find "someone' had scribbled and defaced it. When I told the WHS staff they informed me that he came in the previous day and signed copies! Needless to say I bought the already read book!) as for Milton, my favorite is "White Gold". Great stuff!

 

[LadyX]

I just finished The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and I'm disappointed because I wanted to read this for so long and had high hopes but it didn't live up to my expectations. First off, this book is not suitable for younger readers, I would say 14 and above. My little sister (nine years old) found the cover appealing (I actually have the UK edition which is the one below and not the US cover in my last post) and thought it was a children's book and wanted to read it but I couldn't let her. Anyway, the book is basically about a fourteen-year-old Spokane Indian boy named Arnold Spirit, Jr. whom everyone calls Junior. He suffers from many physical disabilities from being born with excess fluid in his brain. One day he decides to leave his Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, WA to attend Reardan, an affluent white school because he wanted to have a better future. Branded a traitor, Arnold then gets caught between two worlds: his home on the reservation and the white high school he attends.

I expected to be blown away by this book but I wasn't. It was a mediocre read. I did not like the fact that it had lots of profanity, explicit racial and sexual themes, and other inappropriate topics. These said themes and vulgar language were over-kill. If they weren't that frequent I wouldn't have mind. I didn't think they were necessary in telling the story since they did not add to anything so I found them annoying. And the stereotyping of Native Americans shocked me. Now I understand why it's a controversial book and why it got banned.

2 stars/5

 

[pachyderm]

I just finished The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and I'm disappointed because I wanted to read this for so long and had high hopes but it didn't live up to my expectations. First off, this book is not suitable for younger readers, I would say 14 and above. My little sister (nine years old) found the cover appealing (I actually have the UK edition which is the one below and not the US cover in my last post) and thought it was a children's book and wanted to read it but I couldn't let her. Anyway, the book is basically about a fourteen-year-old Spokane Indian boy named Arnold Spirit, Jr. whom everyone calls Junior. He suffers from many physical disabilities from being born with excess fluid in his brain. One day he decides to leave his Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, WA to attend Reardan, an affluent white school because he wanted to have a better future. Branded a traitor, Arnold then gets caught between two worlds: his home on the reservation and the white high school he attends.

I expected to be blown away by this book but I wasn't. It was a mediocre read. I did not like the fact that it had lots of profanity, explicit racial and sexual themes, and other inappropriate topics. These said themes and vulgar language were over-kill. If they weren't that frequent I wouldn't have mind. I didn't think they were necessary in telling the story since they did not add to anything so I found them annoying. And the stereotyping of Native Americans shocked me. Now I understand why it's a controversial book and why it got banned.

2 stars/5


Image

i may skip it now...

 

[LadyX]

i may skip it now...

Yes unfortunately I did not enjoy it one bit. Other than what I've stated in my earlier post, the book is filled with cheap humour and I did not care for any of the characters. I will not recommend it to anyone.

 

[LadyX]

The war against Voldemort is not going well; even the Muggle governments are noticing. Hermione scans the obituary pages of the Daily Prophet, looking for familiar names. Dumbledore is absent from Hogwarts for long stretches of time, and the Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses.

And yet . . .

As in all wars, life goes on. The Weasley twins expand their business. Sixth-year students learn to Apparate -- and lose a few eyebrows in the process. Teenagers flirt and fight and fall in love. Classes are never straightforward, though Harry receives some extraordinary help in Potions from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince.

So it's the home front that takes center stage in the multilayered sixth installement of the story of Harry Potter. Here at Hogwarts, Harry will search for the full and complex story of the boy who became Lord Voldemort -- and thereby find what may be his only vulnerability.

 

[CrickettGrrrl]

the westing game and the martian simultaneously. i was going to read one after the other but i got stuck without the former so started the latter. Like them both!

Ooooh, The Westing Game! I just finished that and enjoyed it very much. --Had heard about it for so long.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I'm currently reading "Three Men in a Boat, To Say Nothing of the Dog" by Jerome K. Jerome, 1889. It's a humorous English travelogue which reminds me a great deal of Mark Twain's "Life on the Mississippi" with a tiny bit of "Connecticut Yankee", all blended together with an enormous P.G. Wodehouse spoon. Wodehouse & Twain are my favorite authors so I'm enjoying this very much. Plus there is a Wire Fox Terrier, like a dash of hot sauce on top.

Terrific!

A lovely, charming book with a warm and cheerfully ironic take on life.

I would have never pegged you for a Harry Potter reader...

-snip -


Now I'm just about to start Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond which my sister just gave me for Christmas. It appears to mix history, geography sociology and anthropology (alas, no submarines, I'm afraid) in an attempt to explain why we are, as a species, where we are today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns,_Germs,_and_Steel

Yes, juanm. My late father was of a similar opinion to yours: He used to hate seeing me read Harry Potter. He kept saying: "But you're educated; you are a university teacher - what are you doing reading childrens' books?" in a tone of sadly disgusted horror.

(To put that in some sort of perspective, it was decades later that I learnt from my then really good best friend - one of those wonderful, rock-solid, loyal guys - in my very early teens, whose father was friendly with my father, that my father used to proudly boast to his father about the sort of - somewhat precocious - stuff I was reading at 12-14 years old. Sitting on a train years - actually two decades - later - we ran into one another - and, over a few glasses of wine, he told me of this. "So I asked my father to get that book," he informed me. "And then, when he got it for me, I looked at it, and I thought - wtf - this is over a thousand pages long - you know what? This is sh*te……And you know what? I really kind of hated you that day.")

However, I read fantasy for relaxation; some people watch TV - I rarely do, instead I read. Avidly...

Re "Guns, Germs and Steel", our mutual online friend, DP, whose recommendations I respect, has already recommended it - strongly - to me and I have it on order.

 

[AVBeatMan]

A lovely, charming book with a warm and cheerfully ironic take on life.



Yes, juanm. My late father was of a similar opinion to yours: He used to hate seeing me read Harry Potter. He kept saying: "But you're educated; you are a university teacher - what are you doing reading childrens' books?" in a tone of sadly disgusted horror.

(To put that in some sort of perspective, it was decades later that I learnt from my then really good best friend - one of those wonderful, rock-solid, loyal guys - in my very early teens, whose father was friendly with my father, that my father used to proudly boast to his father about the sort of - somewhat precocious - stuff I was reading at 12-14 years old. Sitting on a train years - actually two decades - later - we ran into one another - and, over a few glasses of wine, he told me of this. "So I asked my father to get that book," he informed me. "And then, when he got it for me, I looked at it, and I thought - wtf - this is over a thousand pages long - you know what? This is sh*te……And you know what? I really kind of hated you that day.")

However, I read fantasy for relaxation; some people watch TV - I rarely do, instead I read. Avidly...

Re "Guns, Germs and Steel", our mutual online friend, DP, whose recommendations I respect, has already recommended it - strongly - to me and I have it on order.

Re "Three men". Is there any difference between the free and paid versions?

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Re "Three men". Is there any difference between the free and paid versions? View attachment 521227

Even when I click on your link, unfortunately, I am unable to read it, and so cannot see what difference - if any - there is between the different options..

Mine is an old, rather battered paperback……….so I cannot adjudicate on the choices you have offered…….

----------

Image

Ah, yes. Well.

Okay, this is not my personal favourite. Indeed, I found all of that teenage angst, and agonising over relationships - albeit accurately portrayed - a bit tedious, and tiresome.

Actually, coming as it does, after three outstanding books, (PoA, GoF, and OotP), my (original) feeling was that this is something of an anti-climax.

However, it does give us Voldemort's backstory, which is fascinating (and which did have me wondering - what on earth was the seventh book going to be about, if we have Voldemort's backstory already covered to some extent, in this book?)

Nonetheless, on a re-read, a few years later, I thought it had improved quite a bit. More to the point, while responding to readers who thought this work lacked the sheer chutzpah factor of its three predecessors, (and, its immediate successor), J. K. Rowling herself is on record as suggesting that readers view it as the first part of a two part finale.

 

[MPclk2006]

I am reading American Sniper.

 

[CrickettGrrrl]

Re "Three men". Is there any difference between the free and paid versions? View attachment 521227

A prettier cover?

I'm reading the free version which I downloaded from Project Gutenberg. If the paid version is funnier besides prettier, please let me know, because I'll spring for the extra witticisms.

 

[JamesMike]

I am reading American Sniper.

It will be interesting to see how close the movie follows the book.

 

[LadyX]

Re "Three men". Is there any difference between the free and paid versions?
View attachment 521227

A prettier cover?

I'm reading the free version which I downloaded from Project Gutenberg. If the paid version is funnier besides prettier, please let me know, because I'll spring for the extra witticisms.

Not just a prettier cover. When I used to read ebooks, I learned to stay away from free classics. The formatting is horrible. Also, they don't have a table of contents. And for Three Men in a Boat, the paid version includes pictures.

I posted screen shots of the free and paid version of Three Men in a Boat so that you see the difference.

 

[CrickettGrrrl]

Not just a prettier cover. When I used to read ebooks, I learned to stay away from free classics. The formatting is horrible. Also, they don't have a table of contents. And for Three Men in a Boat, the paid version includes pictures.

I posted screen shots of the free and paid version of Three Men in a Boat so that you see the difference.

Thank you for the comparison, it is interesting to see the differences in our versions. However, this is odd, I do have illustrations (which also enlarge) and a functional table of contents in my free PG version. Also a few footnotes. The only thing I don't have with mine is a map, but I was able to email the Wikipedia map to myself a few days ago anyway, I just switch between iBooks & email or the camera roll on my iPad. It looks similar.

Here are some screenshots from mine:

Edit: Sometimes Project Gutenberg has non-illustrated and illustrated file versions of books, I always opt for the illustrated when available, even though the file size is considerably larger. So sometimes you can get some of the bells & whistles. I guess I've been lucky overall, most of the free versions I've downloaded have been decent enough reading, format-wise. I can only think of a very few instances where the formatting was super bad.

 

[LadyX]

Thank you for the comparison, it is interesting to see the differences in our versions. However, this is odd, I do have illustrations (which also enlarge) and a functional table of contents in my free PG version. Also a few footnotes. The only thing I don't have with mine is a map, but I was able to email the Wikipedia map to myself a few days ago anyway, I just switch between iBooks & email or the camera roll on my iPad. It looks similar.

Here are some screenshots from mine:

Edit: Sometimes Project Gutenberg has non-illustrated and illustrated file versions of books, I always opt for the illustrated when available, even though the file size is considerably larger. So sometimes you can get some of the bells & whistles. I guess I've been lucky overall, most of the free versions I've downloaded have been decent enough reading, format-wise. I can only think of a very few instances where the formatting was super bad.

Not all free ebooks but many of them are badly formatted. It's good that the illustrated version is free on Project Gutenberg. The free one on Amazon as you saw in my post has a generic cover and does not have illustrations, table of contents, and is not formatted decently. This is unfortunately the case with most free ebooks, particularly the classics.