Author Topic: The Book Club - 2017  (Read 3712 times)

Offline Captain Pyjama Shark

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The Book Club - 2017
« on: 21-01-2017, 21:01:58 »
What is everyone reading in the new year? Have you made it your resolution to read more? Looking for suggestions or to review something you've read recently? Let's have a thread where we can chat about it.

As for myself, I need to read more for pleasure this year rather than simply marinating in the internet. I've begun graduate school, so I'm backing off from history reading in my spare time and trying to read more fiction and non-fiction about other subject.

I'm beginning a 1903 novel now, The Riddle of the Sands. It's a campy "invasion novel" about a secret German plot to invade Scotland (which I believe was used as the plot for a mission in TimeSplitters). Loads of fun.

And even though I said I'm trying to lay off historical reading, I picked up a book at Christmas called Barbarians and Brothers: Anglo-American Warfare 1500-1856, by Wayne Lee. Lee argues that England developed a genocidal style of warfare in Ireland during the 15 & 1600s that was then applied to Indians in North America, and then to the rebels in the American Civil War.

Offline Rokka

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Re: The Book Club - 2017
« Reply #1 on: 21-01-2017, 22:01:08 »
Reading The Unknown soldier (Tuntematon Sotilas) again, By far my favorite book. Still got Band of brothers lying around somewhere, which i should probably read. I'm thinking of getting a newly released re-print of newspapers from the war. The first edition is about the german invasion, should be pretty interesting.

Offline Torenico

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Re: The Book Club - 2017
« Reply #2 on: 22-01-2017, 07:01:05 »
I'm thinking about getting some material from Walter Spielberger, but I doubt it'll be available in Argentina that easily.

But still, I'm reading Beevor's Battle of the Bulge. A slow read though, barely dedicate it an hour a day during lunch time in my job.


Offline MajorMajor

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Re: The Book Club - 2017
« Reply #3 on: 22-01-2017, 10:01:45 »
Currently reading:

Asimov's Mysteries, by Isaac Asimov. I have loved Asmiov's books ever since I binge read the Foundation trilogy 8 years ago. I have read a few more books from him, namely The Martian Way, I, Robot and The Stars, Like Dust, all of which I liked a lot except for the latter, which was a massive disappointment. Asimov's Mysteries is a collection of short stories blending science fiction with murder mystery. So far so good, but I've only read the first short story so I can't really make any judgement.

Decision in the Ukraine, by George M. Nipe. I got this book because I realised that I knew next to nothing on what happened in the southern flank of the Eastern Front in the aftermath of the destruction of Paulus' 6th Army. The author aims for an academic style of writing and for the most part it works, even if sometimes it is drier than my lab reports. It makes a nice contrast with The Great Game, which is much lighter on sources, although I feel that it delves far too much into what if situations. For all it's worth it's a serious and comprehensive account of the German operations in the south from Kursk to Belogrod.

The Great Game, by Peter Hopkirk. I picked up this book after playing too much Victoria II made me hungry for some 19th century history, of which I had previously only read Tuchman's The Proud Tower, a year and a half ago. The book reads like a novel despite being non-fiction. It's a fascinating account of the Anglo-Russian rivalry in Central Asia, centering around the brave British and Russian officers who risked their lives trying to spread their respective's empires influence into the often brutal Khanates and Emirates that lay between Orenburg and the Indus.


Offline Butcher

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Re: The Book Club - 2017
« Reply #4 on: 22-01-2017, 12:01:01 »
What is everyone reading in the new year? Have you made it your resolution to read more? Looking for suggestions or to review something you've read recently? Let's have a thread where we can chat about it.
I´m a huge fantasy fan. So I borrowed all four Eragon books from my sister. I don´t understand the hype about it. It sure is gorgeous for a 16 year old. Yet I feel like it´s just somehting hugely influenced by World of Warcraft or movies. Worse, the author tries to include some intrigues and political plot in his universe. Yet it seems clumsy to me.

I´m in book two now and I don´t really enjoy it. Anybody else who read it? Does it get worse or better as the author grows up?
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Offline Captain Pyjama Shark

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Re: The Book Club - 2017
« Reply #5 on: 22-01-2017, 23:01:56 »
What is everyone reading in the new year? Have you made it your resolution to read more? Looking for suggestions or to review something you've read recently? Let's have a thread where we can chat about it.
I´m a huge fantasy fan. So I borrowed all four Eragon books from my sister. I don´t understand the hype about it. It sure is gorgeous for a 16 year old. Yet I feel like it´s just somehting hugely influenced by World of Warcraft or movies. Worse, the author tries to include some intrigues and political plot in his universe. Yet it seems clumsy to me.

I´m in book two now and I don´t really enjoy it. Anybody else who read it? Does it get worse or better as the author grows up?

I read the first one a long time ago, and I remember seeing the movie. From what I recall, it was a rather generic fantasy - evil, authoritarian empire, young boy hero begins a quest and topples it, dragons. But I can't say otherwise because I only read the one.

Offline Kalkalash

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Re: The Book Club - 2017
« Reply #6 on: 23-01-2017, 09:01:29 »
What is everyone reading in the new year? Have you made it your resolution to read more? Looking for suggestions or to review something you've read recently? Let's have a thread where we can chat about it.
I´m a huge fantasy fan. So I borrowed all four Eragon books from my sister. I don´t understand the hype about it. It sure is gorgeous for a 16 year old. Yet I feel like it´s just somehting hugely influenced by World of Warcraft or movies. Worse, the author tries to include some intrigues and political plot in his universe. Yet it seems clumsy to me.

I´m in book two now and I don´t really enjoy it. Anybody else who read it? Does it get worse or better as the author grows up?
I read the first two books, and I've never really gotten my hands on the third book, so I can't say it gets better. I'd agree with CPS in the book being just generic fantasy.

I actually started reading more last year, it's a hobby I'd like to start again, as I used to read a lot as a kid. I just don't seem to have a lot of time for it. Managed to finish about a handful of books, but it kind of stopped during Christmas.

Currently working my way through Clausewitz's On War. I also have the Communist Manifesto, Decamerone and The Indisputable Existence of Santa Claus waiting on my bookshelf.
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Offline Slayer

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Re: The Book Club - 2017
« Reply #7 on: 23-01-2017, 23:01:43 »
Currently working my way through Clausewitz's On War.
Tried to read that in my 20s, but it was so boring that I quit after a few chapters.

Offline FHMax3

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Re: The Book Club - 2017
« Reply #8 on: 24-01-2017, 14:01:39 »
I am reading "The Conquest of The Reich", a story of US soldiers fighting in Germany. They also make a reference to the M30 Drilling :P
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Offline MajorMajor

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Re: The Book Club - 2017
« Reply #9 on: 24-01-2017, 14:01:42 »
Currently working my way through Clausewitz's On War.
Tried to read that in my 20s, but it was so boring that I quit after a few chapters.

The same happened to me 6-7 years ago with On the Origin of the Species. I still have the book but I can't really bring myself to read anything even slightly related to science these days.

Offline Kalkalash

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Re: The Book Club - 2017
« Reply #10 on: 24-01-2017, 16:01:11 »
Currently working my way through Clausewitz's On War.
Tried to read that in my 20s, but it was so boring that I quit after a few chapters.

The same happened to me 6-7 years ago with On the Origin of the Species. I still have the book but I can't really bring myself to read anything even slightly related to science these days.
Yeah, Clausewitz wasn't the best of writers. I'm halfway through chapter III at the moment. Had a similar experience with Dante's Divine Comedy, but went fuck it after a fifth of the way.
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Offline hOMEr_jAy

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Re: The Book Club - 2017
« Reply #11 on: 24-01-2017, 19:01:45 »
I´m currently also struggling with "On War", myself for quite a while now. Which is quite sad because it´s not a bad book, but it´s just tough to read.
This year I actually did something I´ve never done before: I read books about sports. About American Football, to be precise. On my holiday to Canada last year I caught the Football-bug and followed the current NFL season very closely, so in order to get into the intricacies of the game I read "Football for Dummies" by Howie Long, which is a quite good beginners read. Long introduces the game, the rules (and differences between college and professional sports), tactics and strategy basics, some lists of legendary players and other interesting stuff in an easy-to-approach way. The books structure is quite useful in order to re-read different chapters.
Also I´ve read "Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2.0: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look" by Pat Kirwan and others. Except for the clumsy title it´s a good step into the more professional topics since it covers advanced tactics for the different roles etc. Kirwan tries to make the reader aware of all the other stuff that goes on in the pitch after the snap BESIDES the quarterback and he manages to do just that. Good read.
Lastly I´m currently reading "The Art of Smart Football" by Chris B. Brown which focuses on more specific topics, such as certain tactics and strategies different teams field. It´s rather short-ish with not quite 200 pages, but then the Kindle version was quite cheap and it´s a good read because it makes you understand more than "QB throws the ball!".

Go sports!  :P
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Offline Captain Pyjama Shark

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Re: The Book Club - 2017
« Reply #12 on: 27-01-2017, 15:01:35 »
Currently working my way through Clausewitz's On War.
Tried to read that in my 20s, but it was so boring that I quit after a few chapters.

The same happened to me 6-7 years ago with On the Origin of the Species. I still have the book but I can't really bring myself to read anything even slightly related to science these days.

That's a shame! I have recently begun to return to a childhood fascination for bugs and spiders. I read Dave Goulson's excellent book A Sting in the Tale, a fun memoir/bumblebee science book, and another very good work called The Journey to the Ants. Next up are guides about spiders and trees, I'm hoping to be able to identify local species and plants. When I was a kid I was very good at knowing all the different plants in my area, so I'm hoping to be able to do so again. It's a lot of fun understanding your local environment.


Go sports!  :P

Going to watch the Superbowl? Do they even show it in Europe?

Offline hOMEr_jAy

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Re: The Book Club - 2017
« Reply #13 on: 30-01-2017, 16:01:43 »
Yep, I´ll watch it. Atleast in Germany, they´re actually going to broadcast it live on TV and for free on the internet. In recent years more people started being interested in the sport and several games are being shown on TV and the web each week during the season. Also the there´s a growing fan base that is being mobilised by social media, which helps spreading the word about the game. Germany actually has several leagues and incidently there´s a club in my town, which means I´ll get to watch some live games in the coming months.

BTT: Currently reading "A Line in the Sand" by James Barr. The book tells the story of how the Middle East was divided between the French and the British after WW1. Quite intriguing, well written and with lots of informations from diplomatic and political sources. Helps explain the modern history of the Middle East and why certain conflicts never seem to be extinguished.

And so he spoke, and so he spoke, that lord of Castamere,
But now the rains weep o'er his hall, with no one there to hear.
Yes now the rains weep o'er his hall,
and not a soul to hear.

Offline Alakazou

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Re: The Book Club - 2017
« Reply #14 on: 30-01-2017, 21:01:35 »
Last year I had to go back to school, so I didn't have the to read. So I read something like 13 books.

But I hope that in 2017 I will be able to read at least 20 or 30 book.

So my first book in 2017 was The day the revolution began: https://www.amazon.com/Day-Revolution-Began-Reconsidering-Crucifixion/dp/0062334387/?tag=thegospcoal-20

It's a book of historical theology, what I mean by that is that explain how the first christian saw Jesus and what they belief about revolution.

Now I am re-reading Battlecry of freedom by James McPherson. I had read it, like 6 years ago in french and now I'm reading it in English.

After that I will go with Comment on écrit l'histoire by Paul Veyne. It's a book about historical epistemology. After that I don't really know, maybe the arthurian Legend (the original one) or maybe something else. I will see.