Yuki
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Posts: 632
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Post by Yuki on Apr 16, 2013 12:21:30 GMT
Reading "Eight Little Piggies" by Stephen J. Gould..
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Post by madmadeline on Apr 16, 2013 12:34:22 GMT
nice!
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Post by charliebrown on Apr 17, 2013 7:52:50 GMT
I actually read the first 2 books of the Diamond Brothers detective series and enjoyed them! Franek has read 3 of them and asks for more. The stories are hilarious and make me chuckle/laugh. Some authors try too hard to create comic effects, but Horowitz seem natural at doing it. I am going to read A Series of Unfortunate Events just for a change.
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Post by raspberrybullets on Apr 17, 2013 11:55:17 GMT
I finally read 1984 by George Orwell. Now I'm reading the collaberation with Terry Practchett and co, Science of Discworld 3 - Darwin's Watch.
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Post by Kye on Apr 17, 2013 13:08:54 GMT
I'm re-reading Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens in preparation for my High Cross tour of Ireland. It's a very cool book!
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Post by JoeP on Apr 17, 2013 19:52:53 GMT
Oh, and also The Secret Garden.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2013 19:57:32 GMT
I finally read 1984 by George Orwell. Now I'm reading the collaberation with Terry Practchett and co, Science of Discworld 3 - Darwin's Watch. Number 4 is coming out soon. May already be out in the UK, at least in hardback.
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Post by raspberrybullets on Apr 17, 2013 20:15:33 GMT
Yes, we saw something on that, a sort of lecture all three of them gave on the Science of Discword series and they mentioned they were working on the fourth. The wizards in number 3 are being hilarious.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2013 14:55:02 GMT
Just finishing up Citizen Soldier, a biography of Harry Truman written by Aida Donald. It's not as well written as David McCullough's version, but it has some material only found in the last couple of years.
I'm going to reread some old Andre Norton paperbacks next, then probably pick up a copy of James Agee's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men to reread.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2013 22:32:42 GMT
Right in the middle of a really excellent book, A Fort of Nine Towers, by Qais Akbar Omar. It's an autobiography, about growing up in Afghanistan during the 1990s.
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Post by raspberrybullets on May 8, 2013 7:42:12 GMT
Sounds interesting.
Does it cound if I'm listening to an audio book instead of reading? I'm listening to Anne of Green Gables which is possibly the best children's book every written.
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Post by Kye on May 8, 2013 10:57:30 GMT
I love that book!
I'm reading Cloud Atlas. I'm only in the second section, but so far, I'm not too impressed with the writing.
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deej
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Posts: 32
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Post by deej on May 8, 2013 13:16:20 GMT
As I'm a huge Enid Blyton fan, I'm currently reading through the Secret Seven book collection. Tonight I will be starting the sixth book in the series Good Work Secret Seven.
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Post by Moose on May 9, 2013 21:57:25 GMT
I've never been into the SS dunno why. I've read quite a lot of them but never engaged with the characters
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2013 19:24:06 GMT
The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt, by Toby Wilkinson.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2013 12:04:16 GMT
Just saw a listing for this book. I can think of several people that I think would get a kick out of receiving a copy. Or maybe, give a kick...
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Post by whollygoats on May 12, 2013 19:31:15 GMT
Or a fright, perhaps?
Opening that and seeing one's phobia 'pop-up' at you has to be a heart-starter.
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Post by whollygoats on May 12, 2013 19:44:46 GMT
Me? I have pretty much run out of Terry Pratchett's Discworld titles. I think I have only three more titles, and those don't seem to be readily available in used and/or paperback form. Truth, The Last Hero, and Witches Abroad remain elusive.
To fill the gaping void, I have trialed several volumes by Carl Hiaasen, another tongue in cheek writer who uses Florida as the fantasy world he populates with unique characters and offbeat storylines...not a difficult task from what I understand...Florida offering up more than ample 'inspiration'. I just finished Scat, which is a 'young adult' title with the rare Florida Everglades panther as the center of attention of a whole lot of human shenanigans. I've since moved on to Tourist Season, which, as it happens, was his first adult novel. It features a stripling private eye who used to be a journalist who is dogging the murder and dismemberment of the local Chamber of Commerce president. I'd say it could be qualified as 'Droll'.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2013 20:03:45 GMT
Hiaasen is pretty good.
If you can find Pratchett's The Last Hero, read it. It's a combo of the UU and the Night Watch groups. It's worth reading if for no other reason than the lead up to the motto of the Discworld space program (as penned by Rincewind) Morituri Nolumus Mori, "We who are about to die don't want to".
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deej
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Post by deej on May 12, 2013 22:07:28 GMT
I've never been into the SS dunno why. I've read quite a lot of them but never engaged with the characters I know what you mean. Famous Five is in a different league. I think two aspects of the book win it for me over SS: The location of FF in Kirrin and the island are unbeatable. The characters are all individuals with different personalities who as a reader you get a huge sense of connection with. Location wise, SS is a little generic, some of the characters such as Barbara and Pam seem irrelevant, and a lot of the adventures are based around Peter, Jack, and occasionally George and Colin. Seven children meeting in a shed doesn't cut it with me. I just think you get a far more in depth picture of everything in FF. Sorry if I'm boring you with my obsession.
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Post by whollygoats on May 12, 2013 23:06:47 GMT
Hiaasen is pretty good. If you can find Pratchett's The Last Hero, read it. It's a combo of the UU and the Night Watch groups. It's worth reading if for no other reason than the lead up to the motto of the Discworld space program (as penned by Rincewind) Morituri Nolumus Mori, "We who are about to die don't want to". Oh...I'm looking. If Cohen the Barbarian takes center stage, it'll be even better. I think that Truth is another of the Moist von Lipwig series, but I'm not sure. And, well... Witches Abroad. If it's any kind of ripoff of Twain's Innocents Abroad, I'm gonna love it. Once I've got those under my belt, I'm going to have to try some more of the non-Discworld stories. Or, some of the Discworld 'guidebooks'.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2013 23:14:40 GMT
Cohen and the Silver Horde play a big part in the book. The resolution has to do with the rules of narrative that Cohen has used all his life to win.
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Post by JoeP on May 13, 2013 18:21:03 GMT
Not sure when (if) I last posted to this thread - but currently 77% of the way through Use of Weapons. And Iain M Banks is still alive.
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Post by madmadeline on May 15, 2013 18:18:54 GMT
I have just read a forum post about a forum post by whollygoats!
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Post by whollygoats on May 18, 2013 0:08:51 GMT
For Kye:I specifically recommend you read Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's spin on Revelation, Good Omens. 'Ineffability' plays a key plot role. As does misplacing the Antichrist. I thought it was a hoot; I think you might, too.
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Post by Kye on May 18, 2013 0:47:46 GMT
I'll look into it. Thanks, Goat!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2013 17:39:44 GMT
Just finished The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers, by Thomas Mullen. It's a novel set during the Depression, about two brothers who are bank robbers in the mold of Dillinger. Mullen is a fairly new writer, he only has three novels out, but well worth a look.
Next up is Storm, by George R. Stewart. It was one of the top books the year of its publication in 1941, pretty much forgotten now. It's somewhat noteworthy as a source for the practice of using women's names for hurricanes, and more specifically for the song "They Call the Wind Maria" in the musical Paint Your Wagon. Stewart even specifies that the name 'Maria' in the book is pronounced more harshly than the normal way, as ma-RYE-ah, and that's the usage used in the song. The only thing Stewart himself is really remembered for anymore is his novel Earth Abides.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2013 17:02:46 GMT
Seward, by Walter Stahr, a biography of Lincoln's Secretary of State.
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2013 7:25:59 GMT
I loved "Good Omens". Right now, I'm reading "The Outsiders" by S. E. Hinton because one of my pupils has to read it. And "The Preservationist" by David Maine.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2013 10:58:40 GMT
I'm reading "Retromancer" by Robert Rankin.
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