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jainser
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Books

Post by jainser »

Just reading the films thread which help push my decision about reading the 'Girl with the...' books.

So not wanting to hijack that thread with books maybe we need another one?
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Re: Books

Post by Stan »

umming and arring about the millenium trilogy myself Pete (good to hear from you again by the way). I treated myself to an amazon kindle for Christmas which allows you to download the first 2 or 3 chapters for free. If a book cant grab your attention in that time then its not worth reading. A colleague at work is also reading them at the moment so I will have to find out what he thought of them
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Re: Books

Post by Huw Thomas »

Stan wrote:umming and arring about the millenium trilogy myself Pete (good to hear from you again by the way). I treated myself to an amazon kindle for Christmas which allows you to download the first 2 or 3 chapters for free. If a book cant grab your attention in that time then its not worth reading. A colleague at work is also reading them at the moment so I will have to find out what he thought of them

milenium trilogy is great, 2nd film out on dvd this month, and third in the cinema
real shame there will be no more :(

The second and third books are even better than the first =D> =D> =D> =D>

Wife is reading the snoman - which is the "next" larsson apparently
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Snowman-Jo-Nesb ... =8-1-spell


Reading the Dreamers Void trilogy (SF) and the moment - great SF

Factual books - three cups of tea - a must read IMHO
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Re: Books

Post by zootMutant »

I read a lot of technical/programming manuals at work. So in the evening, I tend to go for lightweight reading that won't make me think too hard and will help me drop off to sleep. With that in mind, I often read whatever my teenage nieces are reading. :lol:

If you have young nieces (or daughters) who have a tom-boyish bent, I strongly recommend the books of Tamora Pierce. She writes fantasy, but her characters are usually well-developed and her stories have solid, non-predictable, plots. The main character is always a girl between the ages of 11 and 18, who wants to pursue a life path that is generally frowned upon - e.g., knight, warrior, spy, officer of the law. The stories are partly about pursuing her dream, but also about how she deals with the animosity, distrust, fear, or hatred of those who would stand in her way.

These are good enough that I have read most of them more than once. 8)

My favorite series are:

The Song of the Lioness - quartet
The Protector of the Small - quartet
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Re: Books

Post by jainser »

Stan wrote:umming and arring about the millenium trilogy myself Pete (good to hear from you again by the way). I treated myself to an amazon kindle for Christmas which allows you to download the first 2 or 3 chapters for free. If a book cant grab your attention in that time then its not worth reading. A colleague at work is also reading them at the moment so I will have to find out what he thought of them
Hi Stan (thanks) The Kindle a, I've been thinking about that as well. It's my birthday towards the end of the month and Reet is looking for something to get me. What do you think?

For me plus points are space saving both on the book case and when I travel, speed of getting the book, I love gadgets!! Minus points looks a bit small, I think I would actually miss holding a book (as daft as that may sound)

I think my biggest concern is the size of the thing.
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Re: Books

Post by cweed »

jainser wrote: I think my biggest concern is the size of the thing.
Sounds like a typical guy concern. :lol:

Santa brought my 13 year old a Kindle for Christmas. She LOVES it. I am very tempted to steal it....so is my husband. Santa also brought her a cover with a light so she can read in the car at night, etc, etc, so it had a hardback feel to it when you are holding it.

For me the joy of it is lack of paperback clutter. I have a bunch of novels I like to re-read, which means storage space somewhere in my house. I would rather have it all on a Kindle, instead of a paperback library taking up space. I don't think you will regret getting one.
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Re: Books

Post by Stan »

Hi Pete. I really like the kindle. Its about the same size as a book. You can adjust the text size, and the technology makes it easy on the eye. Its very light to hold on its own. I did fork out for a leather cover for it to protect it and this makes it a bit on the heavy size, but its easy to detach again. I like being able to sample the first couple of chapters before deciding whether to buy a book. It downloads very quickly. I got the more expensive 3g version as I dont have a wifi network near me. The 3g connection is supposed to be slower than wifi but it works fast enough. It should be cheaper to buy books given there is no paper involved but that doesnt always seem to be the case. That does of course make it easier on the forests! If you are into the classics then its great because a lot of those books are free.
I am sure I will still buy ordinary books as well - particularly as I tend to be a bit of a hoarder, but at least the bookshelves wont fill quite so quickly!
As with almost all electronic gadgets the manufacturers lie about the battery life and I dont believe the claim it will last 28 days - maybe half that which is still pretty good.
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Re: Books

Post by Paul Victory »

My reading tends to be fairly escapist novels. Over Christmas I read the following (all presents):

Worth Dying For by Lee Child - Usual high octane Jack Reacher story; probably a bit like marmite, you either love or hate these books.
Post Mortuary by Particia Cornwell - I'm still reading the Kay Scarpetta books, but I now skim over the technical descriptions of mortuary procedures.
Cross Fire by James Patterson - I still enjoy the Alex Cross books, but enough with the arch villians, already (The Mastermind re-surfaces in this one).
Alex Cross's Trial by James Patterson + a. n. other - Interesting story about lynchings in the deep south in the 1900s.

I enjoyed the Stieg Larsson books and found them fairly addictive - I read them all in quick succession. A bit dark in parts and makes you wonder about the status and treatment of women in Scandinavian society. I think the original Swedish title for the first book - Men Who Hate Women - gives an insight into the author's thinking, but I wonder if it would have been as big a hit in English if they hadn't changed the title.

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Re: Books

Post by RachelR »

I got a kindle too this Christmas and it is fab! Really easy to read on and weight is fine for me even with the cover. I am also reading the millenium trilogy, currently half way through the 2nd one. Really enjoying them so far and would recommend. I had bought all the books just before the kindle so that is my only frustration :)
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Re: Books

Post by MartyJ »

Stan wrote:As with almost all electronic gadgets the manufacturers lie about the battery life and I dont believe the claim it will last 28 days - maybe half that which is still pretty good.
Stan - If you haven't already, make sure you disable 3g/wifi in the settings menu when you're not actually using it to download stuff - this will increase your battery time significantly. I got my wife a Kindle in October (just wifi, not 3g) - she uses it constantly and has only charged it once (maybe twice) since then... you should be getting a lot more than two weeks out of the battery, 28 days sounds about right.

...and the Millennium Trilogy is fantastic - best series I've read, the amount of detail in the plot is amazing - anyone thinking about reading it won't be disappointed.
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Re: Books

Post by Stan »

Thanks Marty. I didnt know about that until about a week ago when my brother(who bought one for his girlfriend) told me. It still seems to be dropping faster than it should be though. Maybe I have a duff one?
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Re: Books

Post by Wolfmiester »

I can't recommend the Millenium Trilogy highly enough.
I'm just about to finish # 2, which has been even better than #1 and I thought that was one of the best I have ever read.
It does need a little perseverence at certain stages, but it's well worth it.
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Re: Books

Post by andy walls »

The Jigsaw Man by Paul Britton is a good read, there is also a follow up novel but my memory has let me down. He is a real life 'Cracker' and the book is certainly written from the heart.

If anyone fancies a read Im happy to pop it in the post...............It could be the start of a FS book club!! :fsbgrin:
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Re: Books

Post by jainser »

Just spent 3 very boring days 'babt sitting' some equipment at an exhibition so had plent of time to read (and play games!!) Read 'The Bielski Brothers' - The real story of which the film 'Defiance' was based - Amazing story - fantastic book, well written and researched

Also read 'Cannonball!' The real story behind the (funny) movie with the legend that is Burt Reynolds - Again very good. Could you imagine trying to arrange an illegal road race across america now - it was even {kind of] promoted by 'Car & Driver' magazine back then.

Have ordered the 'Girl with the......' books yet as still can't decide on a kindle yet or not but they are next up to read.
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Re: Books

Post by cweed »

Well it did not take long for my husband to cave and get a Kindle for all of his upcoming business travel. He discovered you can also download games...Sudoku is the one that will have me stealing his Kindle.
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Re: Books

Post by Pepe »

cweed wrote:Well it did not take long for my husband to cave and get a Kindle for all of his upcoming business travel. He discovered you can also download games...Sudoku is the one that will have me stealing his Kindle.
I don't have a Kindle, Christine, but am addicted to Sudoku and can't shake it off.
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Re: Books

Post by strider77 »

I love the dark nature of many of the Swedish writers, have watched Wallander on TV with Krister Henriksson the best actor in my opinion but yet to read the Henning Mankell books, looking forward to it.

Also I have not read the Millennium-trilogy but will soon based on your recommendations.

Has anyone ever read A Winter's tale by Mark Helprin ?

I read it some years ago now but worth a re-read, I'd be interested in opinions :D
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Re: Books

Post by jainser »

jainser wrote:Just spent 3 very boring days 'babt sitting' some equipment at an exhibition so had plent of time to read (and play games!!) Read 'The Bielski Brothers' - The real story of which the film 'Defiance' was based - Amazing story - fantastic book, well written and researched

Also read 'Cannonball!' The real story behind the (funny) movie with the legend that is Burt Reynolds - Again very good. Could you imagine trying to arrange an illegal road race across america now - it was even {kind of] promoted by 'Car & Driver' magazine back then.

Have ordered the 'Girl with the......' books yet as still can't decide on a kindle yet or not but they are next up to read.
Didn't bother with the Kindle in the end and just brough the books. First one down (excellent) and half way into the second one. Really enjoying them.

What are the films like?
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Re: Books

Post by JonathanA »

I know this is supposed to be a rowing free zone, but I've just finished reading 'Blood over water' by James and David Livingston. It is about two brothers who rowed in opposing boats in the 2003 boat race.

A pretty good read. Their description of Erg TT's are pretty graphic. Enough to put many off forever...
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Re: Books

Post by Paul Victory »

I got a Kindle today for my birthday!
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Re: Books

Post by teddythebeer »

Finished Generation Kill by Evan Wright today. I saw the miniseries from HBO and liked it, so when I stumbled upon the book I grabbed it right away.

The book is great. It's a story of a journalist who rode with Recon Marines during USA invasion to Iraq - I mean the real story of the real journalist about real people. What I like the best is that while the guy is against a war (that's my impression, of course), he praises people who do their duty, their bravery, their commitment. The book is filled with respect to marines - not all of them, some are described with less respect.

One thing which differs the book from the miniseries is some additional insight. If miniseries give impression, that all the missions of First Recon are based on stupidity and incompetence of higher command, the book explains that they are part of a brilliant plan and that First Recon played the key role in the success of entire invasion.

I have a copy with a new afterword, where the author provides update on his heroes situations. He forgets to mention though that one of them played himself in the miniseries - I find this fact amazing.

All in all - great book. But be advised - strong language, violence & gore, and so on.
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Re: Books

Post by andy walls »

Invested £8 on e-bay in a book called Sretching for Dummies.

As someone who does very little stretching and gets lots of lower back problems it appears this may be a worthwhile investment.

Worried about the fact my favourite stretch to date is called an angry cow :roll:
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Re: Books

Post by Paul Victory »

Currently reading the 4th Matthew Shardlake book by CJ Sansom. Whodunits set in reign of Henry VIII. Really recommend them.
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Re: Books

Post by Huw Thomas »

strider77 wrote:I love the dark nature of many of the Swedish writers, have watched Wallander on TV with Krister Henriksson the best actor in my opinion but yet to read the Henning Mankell books, looking forward to it.

Also I have not read the Millennium-trilogy but will soon based on your recommendations.

Has anyone ever read A Winter's tale by Mark Helprin ?

I read it some years ago now but worth a re-read, I'd be interested in opinions :D
Norwegian rather than Swedish - but I'm enjoying THe snowman - Jo Nesbo which is of the same Scandinavian Crime genre
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Re: Books

Post by strider77 »

Huw Thomas wrote:-Norwegian rather than Swedish - but I'm enjoying THe snowman - Jo Nesbo which is of the same Scandinavian Crime genre
Cheers thanks Huw, will give it a go :D

Some Crafty Old Hen went down well last night :lol:
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