Rural Rat Posted March 28, 2011 Posted March 28, 2011 Just finished Big Shots by Adam Shand. Melbournes gangland war from the inside apparently. I found it very, very disturbing. If even a third of this is factual..........? I am obviously seriously naive as to ways of the world.
ayou2 Posted March 28, 2011 Posted March 28, 2011 Bill Bryson - A Short History of Nearly Everything Great book. Science de-mystified in short & tons of fascinating facts along the way. eg: Henry Cavendish estimated the weight of the planet, in 1797, at 13,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 pounds (6 billion trillion metric tons in todays terms). By 1996 (at the time of publishing of this book) that figure had been adjusted back by only 1%. Isaac Newton made very close estimations 110 years before Cavendish. If you like that kinda stuff, this books for you.
davidsss Posted March 29, 2011 Posted March 29, 2011 I'm currently reading: Nothing to Envy, Love, life and death in North Korea. It is very interesting. The author, Barbara Demick, interviewed defectors from North Korea to see what it is really like and how the regime controls people's daily lives. DS
Guest VladimirFreddie Posted March 29, 2011 Posted March 29, 2011 Bill Bryson - A Short History of Nearly EverythingGreat book. Science de-mystified in short & tons of fascinating facts along the way. eg: Henry Cavendish estimated the weight of the planet, in 1797, at 13,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 pounds (6 billion trillion metric tons in todays terms). By 1996 (at the time of publishing of this book) that figure had been adjusted back by only 1%. Isaac Newton made very close estimations 110 years before Cavendish. If you like that kinda stuff, this books for you. +1 a favourite of mine too!
biologist Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 Currently reading the second of Stan Nicholls ORC trilogies Bad Blood: Weapons of Magical Destruction (finished a few days ago) and am now onto Bad Blood: Army of Shadows. The Orc's are tough, crude, rude and love a fight, its just one big boy's own adventure from start to finish. I can't put these books down.
Gabba Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 Bill Bryson - A Short History of Nearly EverythingGreat book. Science de-mystified in short & tons of fascinating facts along the way. eg: Henry Cavendish estimated the weight of the planet, in 1797, at 13,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 pounds (6 billion trillion metric tons in todays terms). By 1996 (at the time of publishing of this book) that figure had been adjusted back by only 1%. Isaac Newton made very close estimations 110 years before Cavendish. If you like that kinda stuff, this books for you. I had a Borders voucher that I desperately needed to use! Thanks for the suggestion, I am loving it. It is nice to learn some more general science on fields that I haven't really studied (astronomy and physics namely..).
LogicprObe Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 I'm reading Alan Ramsey's latest. Great read. 1
ayou2 Posted April 13, 2011 Posted April 13, 2011 I had a Borders voucher that I desperately needed to use! Thanks for the suggestion, I am loving it. It is nice to learn some more general science on fields that I haven't really studied (astronomy and physics namely..). Your welcome & glad you like it
Full Range Posted April 15, 2011 Author Posted April 15, 2011 Just finished 2 Books by Lee Child 1) One Shot 2) The Hard Way Cant Get enough of recurring character Jack Reacher Daughter got them from Los Angeles as a gift Now I will start on 2 biography like books on Frank Zappa & Jimi Hendrix FR 1
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted April 15, 2011 Volunteer Posted April 15, 2011 Currently in the middle of 'A Naked Singularity' by Sergio De La Pava. It's one of the most original and inventive books I've ever read. Excerpt from a review here: Editor’s note: This book review tends closer to an endorsement than we would usually publish. The reason for this is that the book under review is atypical. It is unusual, at the least, to review a self-published book that is nearly three years old. This book, we believe, merits continued attention. There is a growing body of evidence that it is a remarkable work of fiction that has been unjustly ignored. Full review here : http://quarterlyconversation.com/a-naked-singularity-by-sergio-de-la-pava 1
Phill451 Posted April 18, 2011 Posted April 18, 2011 halfway though Freedom by Franzen. It is excellent I am enjoying it considerably more than The Corrections.
Nayer Posted July 21, 2011 Posted July 21, 2011 im reading a classic , FountainHead and lance armstrong's biography - It's not about the bike
MultiplexMan Posted July 22, 2011 Posted July 22, 2011 I tend to sample a work from an author, and if I like it, I try to read more of their work. Recently I have read Haruki Murakami. - Kafka on the Shore - The Elephant Vanishes - Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman - A Wild Sheep Chase All courtesy of my local library
peacewise Posted July 23, 2011 Posted July 23, 2011 Holiday reading for me was... Read The Dosadi Experiment by Frank Herbert was a bit of fun, super soliders and uber observationalists, reminded me of the Bene Gesserit. Thoroughly enjoyed Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks, he still writes the best space ships, "The Abominator-class picket ship Falling Outside the Normal Moral Constraints" was a real hoot and the star character for me. Have been fascinated by Educational Psychology for learning and teaching.
MultiplexMan Posted July 30, 2011 Posted July 30, 2011 I chanced upon Stuart MacBride whilst waiting in a country town with nought to do in the driving rain but visit the local library. Halfhead - This was the gritty "near future" novel that got me interested in his writing. Some novel concepts are employed, made believable by the "imperfection" of their execution. Great characters - some of which bear frightening likenesses to persons in my professional life... Other novels that follow a Scottish crime/detective theme: Broken Skin Blind Eye Bloodshot Dying Light The writing has hints of Taggart and Silent Witness at times. Great for consuming the hours at airports...
Full Range Posted August 21, 2011 Author Posted August 21, 2011 Been a bit slack in the book reading area due to other commitments These commitments have also kept me from SNA as well Anyway I have read a detective story Author James Paterson Title Worst Case Got to say it wasn't to my taste Next book is music related Author Sean Egan Title The making of Are You Experienced (Jimi Hendrix) Great book and well written but I started to re read it again just in case brain skipped some info and am about half way through it second time around FR 1
Luc Posted August 21, 2011 Posted August 21, 2011 Reading four biographies; two on James Boswell, one on Voltaire and the other one is the Whitbread Prize winning Bio of Johnson+ Savage by Holmes. These are of course all connected and my nose is in three other books dealing with social history in 18th century England and it's place in Europe and the Enlightenment. Also reading some lighter stuff, a few Fantasy novels and a cyberpunk story allied with a graphic novel. (I dont really watch TV much or read popular novels) 1
davidsss Posted August 21, 2011 Posted August 21, 2011 Just finished Sideshow by Lindsay Tanner. Well worth reading, a good look at the dumbing down of politics in Australia and elsewhere. DS
Orpheus Posted August 21, 2011 Posted August 21, 2011 Reading the Michael Kirby biography, which is a very well written book, and quite inspiring. A great man. 2
mondie Posted August 21, 2011 Posted August 21, 2011 I am part way through The Philosophy of Andy Warhol. Quite an interesting read, its all over the place, wacky, insightful and sometimes just plain bizarre but never boring.
Luc Posted August 21, 2011 Posted August 21, 2011 its all over the place, wacky, insightful and sometimes just plain bizarre but never boring. Like the bloke in question then... 1
mondie Posted August 21, 2011 Posted August 21, 2011 l guess so, never taken much notice of Warhol which is why l grabbed it when l spotted it at the local library. He lived through some interesting times.
peacewise Posted August 23, 2011 Posted August 23, 2011 Only unibooks at the moment. Classroom management, engaging students in learning, by Tim McDonald. Pretty good read actually. Elementary and middle school mathematics, teaching developmentally, by Van de Walle, Karp and Bay-Williams. Some very cool (presumably) new ideas on how to teach maths.
Catostylus Posted August 23, 2011 Posted August 23, 2011 Alex Ross's "Listen To This". Somewhat sidetracked by chapters about persons called "Radiohead" and "Bjork", for which I care not, but otherwise a fine read. Mostly rehashed stuff from his New Yorker articles and some might cynically suggest designed to cash in on the popularity of his earlier "The Rest Is Noise" but since I don't get New Yorker it's worth getting hold of.
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