What are you reading? Books, articles or publications of any kind!

johnny

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
Surprised there isn't a thread on this already - looked back through 2+ years of OT and couldn't find anything. Link me to it if I've missed it and I'll delete this one.


I'm on a bit of a reading binge at the moment, first goal is to better understand the the drivers for and character of modern fascism. As part of that, I'm reading into the Spanish Civil War - internal and external dynamics.

Read this, hard to put down, great analysis of the roots of fascism (Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, etc.) and how it is working today as it re-emerges as a prominent part of the global political landscape (Trump, Orban, Bolsanaro, Kaczynski, etc.). I fully recommend this to anyone interested in the issue:

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Read this, it was interesting but a bit more 'day in the life of' than the big picture that I wanted. Recommended to anyone interested in a first hand account of revolutionary Europe in the interwar years or a first hand account of warfare in the early/mid 1900s. Not much reason to read it other than that:
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Now reading this, it's deep and long but very well researched and written - about 250 pages into about 500:

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What are you reading?
 
Asininedrivel

Asininedrivel

caviar connoisseur
johnny said:
Surprised there isn't a thread on this already - looked back through 2+ years of OT and couldn't find anything. Link me to it if I've missed it and I'll delete this one.


I'm on a bit of a reading binge at the moment, first goal is to better understand the the drivers for and character of modern fascism. As part of that, I'm reading into the Spanish Civil War - internal and external dynamics.

Read this, hard to put down, great analysis of the roots of fascism (Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, etc.) and how it is working today as it re-emerges as a prominent part of the global political landscape (Trump, Orban, Bolsanaro, Kaczynski, etc.). I fully recommend this to anyone interested in the issue:

View attachment 385591

Read this, it was interesting but a bit more 'day in the life of' than the big picture that I wanted. Recommended to anyone interested in a first hand account of revolutionary Europe in the interwar years or a first hand account of warfare in the early/mid 1900s. Not much reason to read it other than that:
View attachment 385589


Now reading this, it's deep and long but very well researched and written - about 250 pages into about 500:

View attachment 385590



What are you reading?
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Nice recommendations there. Anthony Beevor is a fantastic author, makes even relatively dry history come to life.

Apart from the embarrassing pile of unread books on my desk, I've just finished The Wolf of Wall Street (pretty good - Jordan Belfort has an ego the size of Manhattan but his descriptive prose speaks to either a photographic memory or a very healthy dose of bullshit. Either way, entertaining tale. Not sure how happy he'd have been with the film script, it deviates pretty massively and unflatteringly away from what apparently happened).
 
The Duckmeister

The Duckmeister

Has a juicy midrange
"Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls". A collection of tales about various shipwrecks, castaways and other misadventures.

All true stories, mostly covering examples of survival in the face of extreme adversity due to a lot of emotional fortitude. On the flipside, plenty of accounts of seamen being "chosen" to become food for their "shipmates".... :oops:
 
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johnny

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
Dales Cannon said:
Digging back through some old high school sci fi from Heinlein and Orwell as well as the usual smattering of Pratchett and Nicci French and Minette Walters not to mention Frank Herbert and some series about sand and shit.
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Still haven't read/seen any version of Dune yet. Will have to get onto that one day.
 
Labcanary

Labcanary

One potato, two potato, click
johnny said:
I was forced to do Three Little Pigs about 3 times over yesterday arvo.
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Similarly, my youngest insists I read "The Very Cranky Bear" twice a day. We've been stuck in this loop for a fortnight.

When the kids are either asleep or occupied I've been reading anything by Kurt Vonnegut Jnr. Slaughterhouse 5 is one of his best known works, but Cat's Cradle is another stand out in my opinion.

Pre-kids I read a lot of China Mieville books. Perdido Street Station and Iron Council are fantastic. He has created some pretty amazing, out there worlds. Though it takes some commitment to get through his books.

@Dales Cannon I reckon my book collection is very similar to yours. I intend on re-reading a lot of old favourite sci-fi and I really look forward to reading Pratchett with the kids once they're a little older.
 
Rorschach

Rorschach

Didnt pay $250 for this custom title
Anything sci-fi or fantasy, mainly space opera. I read to forget the world and can’t do non-fiction
I really like Iain M Banks, favourite of his is The Algebraist. Keep coming back to it.
I have a stash of paperback books in the cupboard but unfortunately my kindle gets the nod these days for convenience purposes and the fact a bedside light is more shit my kids can pull over
 
Squidfayce

Squidfayce

Eats Squid
Finished 4321 by Paul Auster. The four lives of a Jewish boy growing up in 1950s America. Bit of a concept novel where the each life described is impacted by different events. Think multiverse theory, but not really a science fiction book. Was a hard read, but Paul auster is a great author.

Currently reading Altar of Bones by Philip carter. Conspiracy fiction ala Dan brown Involving the fountain of life and the jfk assassination. Trashy fast paced reading.

Next in the queue is the institute by Stephen King. Know nothing about it, but love horror. Bought on a whim. Kind of like the idea that King can't stand using adverbs, so his writing is almost entirely if not entirely void of them. Makes for an interesting reading experience just like when you can't help to count out syllables in shakespearean verse when you learn about the structure.
 
leitch

leitch

Feelin' a bit rrranty
Squidfayce said:
Finished 4321 by Paul Auster. The four lives of a Jewish boy growing up in 1950s America. Bit of a concept novel where the each life described is impacted by different events. Think multiverse theory, but not really a science fiction book. Was a hard read, but Paul Auster is a great author.
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Read this a couple of years ago and loved it, didn't find it hard going personally. I liked the concept of the four possible lives of the narrator, and they die off one by one to reveal which is the real life and which were his fantasies.

Have you read the New York Trilogy?
 
Squidfayce

Squidfayce

Eats Squid
leitch said:
Read this a couple of years ago and loved it, didn't find it hard going personally. I liked the concept of the four possible lives of the narrator, and they die off one by one to reveal which is the real life and which were his fantasies.

Have you read the New York Trilogy?
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What I found hard about this read was the dense writing style. There is A LOT going on in each page and given the hefty size of it, it demands attention all the time. I've not read the new York trilogy, but Mr vertigo remains one of my fave all time reads.
 
Dales Cannon

Dales Cannon

lightbrain about 4pm
Staff member
Just counted. Excluding text books and uni stuff...

36 shelves, mostly double stacked. 40-60 books per shelf. Movers hated us. And they didn't like packing and moving books either.

My perceptions about a book change (mostly) as I get older. Some better, most worse. Certainly that is the case with Dune. Possibly tainted by a shit movie in between. Favourites are things like Shibumi by Trevanian and Magician by Feist. Any Pratchett any time. Obviously. Nicci French (two peoples) work worth a mention and if you like Roman history have a go at Lindsay Davies.

Should have mentioned classics too, some days are Dickens. Love a bit of Twain etc. Good story, good literature. Don't care I am a slut.
 
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Squidfayce

Squidfayce

Eats Squid
Slightly off topic. Our current home, soon to be a rental, has a secret art project scattered through it made from books.

We've wall papered out of the way/out of sight surfaces with horror themed writing.Mostly h p lovecraft, some pages from the satanic bible (Anton la vey trash). Like the back wall under the sink in the ensuite, the reverse of a sliding mirror to a wardrobe, some of the trusses in the roof etc.

The idea being we hope to creep somone the fuck out when it goes up for rent, and later, sale. Muahahhaha!
 
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