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Roadhump

Time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted
I started reading The First World War by Hew Strachan and also watching the series on BBC 4 on Tuesday night which is based on the same book. Each episode is based on a chapter of the book and has the same title. I found watching the TV programme after reading the relevant chapter in the book really good so now I read a chapter each Tuesday and then watch the programme that night.

Also just read The third policeman by Flann O'Brien, quite a clever book, and just started 39 Steps by John Buchan.
 

F70100

Who, me ?
Currently reading Quantum: Einstein, Bohr And The Great Debate About The Nature Of Reality by Manjit Kumar. How do they know that stuff??

Incidentally, it's a library book; is anyone else an avid library user? We always have something on the go.
 

Gravity Aided

Legendary Member
Location
Land of Lincoln
Spoon River Anthology, by Edgar Lee Masters. Rather local fellow. This book is alot like Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood, but the rest the characters are enjoying is much more final.
 

MontyVeda

a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
I'm re-reading Hope & Glory by Stuart Maconie.... it looks at events from each decade of the 20th century and how those events have shaped modern Britain. Starting with The Suffragists and the death of Queen Victoria, then the first world war, then the general strike, blah blah blah... my recollection of it gets a bit vague after that hence the re-read.
 
I'm nearly finished with Dean Koontz' Watchers. Fantastic book, and one I thoroughly enjoy reading.

Next in line is James Herbert's Rats trilogy, and then whatever I put onto my kindle last night. Hopefully I'll figure out which James Patterson book I last read (from the Alex Cross novels) and pick up where I left off.
 

welsh dragon

Thanks but no thanks. I think I'll pass.
I'm nearly finished with Dean Koontz' Watchers. Fantastic book, and one I thoroughly enjoy reading.

Next in line is James Herbert's Rats trilogy, and then whatever I put onto my kindle last night. Hopefully I'll figure out which James Patterson book I last read (from the Alex Cross novels) and pick up where I left off.

They're good aren't they? I am never disappointed with them
 
They're good aren't they? I am never disappointed with them
They're so well written, easy to pick up and put down, but I read something like the sixth book first, immediately bought the missing books and re-read the sixth so it all made sense.

Put them all onto my Kindle along with finding some John Grisham books, so those will be loaded up soon.
Now to learn how to use the thing... Times like these, wish my ipad didn't keep being nicked, as I'd go back to reading on that. Only stopped as started cycling instead of using the bus to work.
 

welsh dragon

Thanks but no thanks. I think I'll pass.
I
They're so well written, easy to pick up and put down, but I read something like the sixth book first, immediately bought the missing books and re-read the sixth so it all made sense.

Put them all onto my Kindle along with finding some John Grisham books, so those will be loaded up soon.
Now to learn how to use the thing... Times like these, wish my ipad didn't keep being nicked, as I'd go back to reading on that. Only stopped as started cycling instead of using the bus to work.

I have a sony e-reader as well as my samsung galaxy tab 2, so I can read on both. I also have the kindle app on my samsung. Its easy to use, you'll soon get used to it.
 

Profpointy

Legendary Member
I started reading The First World War by Hew Strachan and also watching the series on BBC 4 on Tuesday night ......

On a related note I'm now on volume 2 of Arthur Marder's outstanding account of the Great War at sea. V1 was on the naval build up, and build up of tensions generally; the Fisher era if you like, v2 from august 1914 to Jutland. Will order 3,, 4, & 5 just as soon as they are (re-) published. Properly researched history, superbly written, almost Churchillian and reads like a story (ie as a narrative, rather than romanticising or anything). As an American, he could perhaps be more dispassionate that the British writers as he'd have had less of an axe to grind. Highly recommended. Have Strachan's volume 1 on my shelf too, but not yet started it. I do hope he actually writes V2 & 3 though - assuming it's any good of course.
 
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I have a sony e-reader as well as my samsung galaxy tab 2, so I can read on both. I also have the kindle app on my samsung. Its easy to use, you'll soon get used to it.

It's one of the older keyboard versions, which is fine, but going from an iPhone / iPad which bookmarks via iCloud, it's going to be interesting with the Kindle, but then I don't mind, just another gadget of many. So bring on the books!
 

Roadhump

Time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted
On a related note I'm now on volume 2 of Arthur Marder's outstanding account of the Great War at sea. V1 was on the naval build up, and build up of tensions generally; the Fisher era if you like, v2 from august 1914 to Jutland. Will order 3,, 4, & 5 just as soon as they are (re-) published. Properly researched history, superbly written, almost Churchillian and reads like a story (ie as a narrative, rather than romanticising or anything). As an American, he could perhaps be more dispassionate that the British writers as he'd have had less of an axe to grind. Highly recommended. Have Strachan's volume 1 on my shelf too, but not yet started it. I do hope he actually writes V2 & 3 though - assuming it's any good of course.
It is easy with WW1 to just think of the western front, as down the years so much has been said about trench warfare, the Somme, Ypres etc, and overlook all the other aspects. Strachan's book explains how the war extended to Africa and the middle east, and he also describes the eastern front. Never having been much of a student of history, my awareness of those things was pretty thin. I have developed an interest in WW1 and am really enjoying reading about it. I have already read Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark and have Max Hastings' Catastrophe lined up as well as a few others. It has also led me to read some fiction I probably wouldn't have tried otherwise, Greenmantle by John Buchan is my latest fiction novel, I got the idea when it was briefly mentioned in Strachan's book, and as I was aware that the central character was the same guy from 39 steps, which is set a couple of years earlier, I read that first. There are quite a few other suggestions in this thread........should keep me out of mischief for a while.
 
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