Has anyone read The City and The City, a Hugo Award science fiction novel, and like it? I’m trying and it’s just not appealing to me.
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Spoilers What Book Are You Reading?
- Thread starter Huntn
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Carrying the Fire.
Apollo 11 crew member Michael Collins’ autobiography.
Pretty good read. Collins wrote it himself saying that in his opinion too much often gets lost when someone pens it for them.
I saw the other day he has at least one other book so I’m hoping he isn’t turning into another Buzz Aldrin.
One line that astounded me was that the 5 first stage Saturn V boosters burned 15 tons of fuel per second. (3 tons each.....liquid oxygen and kerosene). S
Apollo 11 crew member Michael Collins’ autobiography.
Pretty good read. Collins wrote it himself saying that in his opinion too much often gets lost when someone pens it for them.
I saw the other day he has at least one other book so I’m hoping he isn’t turning into another Buzz Aldrin.
One line that astounded me was that the 5 first stage Saturn V boosters burned 15 tons of fuel per second. (3 tons each.....liquid oxygen and kerosene). S
Just started September Hope: The American Side of a Bridge Too Far by John C. McManus. It is about the largest airborne drop in military history. Hopefully, it will be a good read.
My dad recently gave me William Manchester's three-volume biography of Winston Churchill, The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill. I don't know when I'll ever get around to reading the entire thing, but I'm happy to have it. 
My dad recently gave me William Manchester's three-volume biography of Winston Churchill, The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill. I don't know when I'll ever get around to reading the entire thing, but I'm happy to have it.
It’s simply fantastic. I am halfway through the second book. Well written, it provides lots of not well-known information about the former Prime Minister. I am very glad that it is not hagiographic and does not shy away from his most controversial traits.
I have one more chapter left and yup, there is a lot of Bob's I tell yeah!!!
I am about 3/4 through The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and very much enjoying it. Having recently watched the latest season of ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ I was concerned about ‘plot armor’, so was happy that there are real actions and consequences.
Question -I am having a very deja vu experience regarding an important scene about half way in regarding the character V, but can’t find any reference that it was pulled from another book or movie or ... ? Not sure. Assuming it is simply deja vu, but if anyone is familiar let me know.
After that likely to read The Goldfinch (my wife already has) before it arrives in theaters.
Question -I am having a very deja vu experience regarding an important scene about half way in regarding the character V, but can’t find any reference that it was pulled from another book or movie or ... ? Not sure. Assuming it is simply deja vu, but if anyone is familiar let me know.
After that likely to read The Goldfinch (my wife already has) before it arrives in theaters.
I’m reminded of the phrase I first heard in V for Vendetta*: Actors use lies to tell the truth, while Politicians use lies to cover up the truth.
* which btw is a most excellent film., imho.
Very true - but it is hard to have re-read it in the last few years - especially if you were at least a teenager when it originally came out - without feeling a sickening lump in your stomach.
Again, agreed. Back in the 80s I saw all this progress everywhere and envisioned a world where unions and ‘civil rights laws’ and things like that would become unnecessary because acceptance seemed like an unstoppable tide ... until it wasn’t. So suddenly re-reading in 2017 was like a gut-punch. In an era where some see a man refusing to hire women because he might be alone with them as ‘honorable’ rather than the grotesque and illegal thing it is ... suddenly much less of the book seemed like dystopia.
As well you should
As for the TV show ... we’ve watched it all. Throughout the acting and directing and cinematography are incredibly well done. The reason you will hear that it gets worse each season is the writing and some narrative issues - and based on what you (and Huntn) wrote, you will have issues certainly with season #3. However, Season #1 is glorious in how it brings the book to life, IMO.
And I get what Huntn is saying as well - I feel that there are strengths and weaknesses in the book that are along the same lines, and as gamers we are looking for more robust worldbuilding than we get. The core concepts work, but we try to fill things out and it doesn’t always work - I know I now read the book like a toddler saying ‘why’ and ‘how’ and ‘what’s that mean’ every three sentences
Finished book one last night! I dig it and I can almost see where book two will take us. I will be picking up book two, however I don't know if I want to jump right in to it just yet. So I started a book I have already read by Dean Koontz called "Dragon Tears". Read this one over twenty years ago and really liked it, so this will be a second go around of it!
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My dad recently gave me William Manchester's three-volume biography of Winston Churchill, The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill. I don't know when I'll ever get around to reading the entire thing, but I'm happy to have it.
I only have Defender of the Realm.
Just grabbed this ‘How To’ from xkcd creator Randall Monroe ... love his stuff, and have met him at a conference where he spoke (statistics conference, no less!)
https://www.amazon.com/How-Absurd-S.../ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
https://www.amazon.com/How-Absurd-S.../ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Ah, yes.
Am really looking forward to this work.
The first two volumes (Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies) are superb. Actually, I had the privilege of seeing the RSC perform the stage adaptation of Wolf Hall in the Alywych five years ago and brought some dear friends from Bristol to see it (my treat to them); absolutely fantastic - so fantastic that the beer that had been bought for me at the interval was unfinished by the end of the performance.
The publication of The Mirror and the Light is very much anticipated on my part, as well. (David McCullough's biography of Thomas Cromwell - in which he salutes Mantel's scholarship, and accepts some of Hilary Mantel's interpretations re Cromwell's character is well worth a read).
Currently immersed in my version of "comfort blanket" reading; re-reading some of Elizabeth Moon's works (the Serrano series, space opera fantasy but very good), and some R. F. Delderfield (the Avenue series).
Re other future reading, I have already ordered Angel Mage by Garth Nix (his Abhorsen trilogy is superlative), and The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman (his Book of Dust trilogy is also outstanding).
And I am awaiting the imminent publication of The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company - by William Dalrymple.
Just released this week and delivered to me an hour ago by UPS... looking forward to reading this.
I'm going to read Mattis' book too. And, just based on carefully phrased remarks attributed to him via press reports of media interviews, I'm looking forward to reading the next one he writes as well.
"There is a period in which I owe my silence. It’s not eternal. It’s not going to be forever,” he said.
https://www.politico.eu/article/jam...ld-trump-silence-but-wont-keep-quiet-forever/
https://www.politico.eu/article/jam...ld-trump-silence-but-wont-keep-quiet-forever/
Indeed! I'll read that when it comes out, too.
Political stuff aside, I'm also quite interested in reading the book for all the general (no pun intended) leadership stuff. Since he and I are both Marines, I will certainly understand and appreciate it's content.
I really enjoyed the first three parts but was a bit disappointed with the fourth.
I really liked the Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
And a couple of others* that I'm sure I mentioned in here a few years ago, lol.
*Kafka On The Shore
*Sputnik Sweetheart
But really don't recall much from them...
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Think I've only read one work by Haruki Murakami. It's "Kino", a (long) short story, which I did like. It was published in the February 23, 2015 issue of The New Yorker. It did make me think I'd probably prefer his short stories to longer works. So far I haven't set about proving or disproving that not even half-baked hypothesis.