TSF Book Club
-
[quote name='taniwharugby' timestamp='1361931069' post='347451']<br />
<br />
Picked up Conn Igguldens [i]Conqueror[/i] at the library today, which is the last in the series (from Genghis Khan to Kublai Khan) so been wanting to read this for a while but never been in the library, except today.<br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
Snap!<br />
<br />
Finally getting around to Conqueror as well. I read the others in short succession quite a while back so it's hard to remember who is who now.<br />
<br />
Also saw on the weekend that Iggulden is revisting the Emperor series see [url="http://www.conniggulden.com/2013/emperor-blood-of-gods-2/"]http://www.conniggulden.com/2013/emperor-blood-of-gods-2/[/url] -
Had to finish another book and only just started it the other day, but like you I red the others fairly quickly, it is tough remembering which line so and so is from I have to refer to the family tree at the front. <br />
<br />
Good so far -
Finally finished Peter F Hamilton's [i]Great North Road. [/i]The book did improve in the second half but when you're talking about a book that's over one thousand pages you're dealing with a lot of faff.<br />
<br />
In particular I found that the Newcastle police procedural scenes were boring as hell, lacking in good characters or a exciting narrative. There's only so many times I can read about people using secondary bank accounts to hide their income from the government before I switch off - and I'm an accountant.<br />
<br />
The multiple narratives did tie together at the end although I did have some questions about whether the timeline and the justification for leaving the expedition team isolated on the alien planet seemed extremely contrived.<br />
<br />
Two books I would recommend are [i]Fighters Heart[/i] and [i]Fighters Mind[/i] by Sam Sheridan. The first is a personal journey style book in which Sheridan travelled to Thailand, Brazil, Japan and throughout America training with and talking to professional fighters with the goal of stepping into the ring. The second book is similar but, as the title suggests, looks more at the mental side of fighting. Both well-written books even if you're not a big fight fan. -
[quote name='dogmeat' timestamp='1361915881' post='347379']By the time I gave up on him I'd decided Jordan was simply a bloated David Eddings.[/quote]<br />
<br />
I do have to laugh whenever they say "taint" though. Especially "cleansing the taint" like it's a big deal - have a shower if your taint is dirty! -
[quote name='Catogrande' timestamp='1357742312' post='336376']<br />
<br />
<br />
Secondly Phillip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series about sometime cop, sometime PI in pre and post war Berlin and then onward to Argentina and so on. Start off with the Omnibus edition named Berlin Noir.<br />
[/quote]Think I must have missed this post at the time Cato but I loved this series of books, read them a while back and not only are they well written crime stories, they're also brilliantly descriptive of Germany in the 30s and then beyond. -
Anybody else read Wool yet?<br />
<br />
First published as an e-book and now available in real form, it's a dystopian, sci-fi whodunnit of sorts focused on a community of survivors buried in an underground silo. Sounds a bit, 'meh' but I absolutely flew through this book and loved every bit of it.<br />
<br />
There's been a lot of chatter about Wool being sc-fi's Fifty Shades of Grey and Ridley Scott has optioned it. The author has since inked a deal with a major publisher but in a groundbreaking move has retained the electric publishing rights for himself. Nobody is quite sure if that's a good move or not .... for the publisher.<br />
<br />
Five stars for me. -
Finished Good Omens (by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman) which I purchased from the Harvard Book Store in Boston because I felt I should purchase something from there. Laughed the whole way through it (my type of humour). About the son of Satan, the apocalypse, and an angel and a demon trying to stop it when their bosses want it to happen. 9/10
-
[quote name='Sneakdefreak' timestamp='1364378483' post='355156']<br />
Finished Good Omens (by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman) which I purchased from the Harvard Book Store in Boston because I felt I should purchase something from there. Laughed the whole way through it (my type of humour). About the son of Satan, the apocalypse, and an angel and a demon trying to stop it when their bosses want it to happen. 9/10<br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
Terry Pratchett is one of my favourites. Always on the look out for new Discworld books (although he's gone a bit same same recently).<br />
<br />
My first experience of him was [i]Reaper Man[/i] - pissed myself laughing: Death (i.e., the Grim Reaper) is focred into retirement and takes up work on a farm. Also really enjoyed [i]Guards! Guards![/i] and [i]Pyramids[/i].<br />
<br />
Read [i]Good Omens [/i]years ago - and it is very funny. -
[quote name='booboo' timestamp='1364420391' post='355238']<br />
Terry Pratchett is one of my favourites. Always on the look out for new Discworld books ([b]although he's gone a bit same same recently[/b]).<br />
.<br />
[/quote]he probably doesn't realise that... -
[b]"You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup"[/b] by Peter Doggett (2010). This one kinda fell in my lap, and I couldn't put it down. I'm not a huge fan of the Beatles, certainly not since I was a young kid and a minor relapse in my teenage years, but I found this absorbing. It's kinda book-ended by the deaths of Brian Epstein and John Lennon, and deals with the Apple debacle and why the band divided (not Yoko as most assume, but more an acrimonious management struggle between McCartney and the other three). Doggett doesn't interview the members so much as digest every thing ever written about them (paying particular attention to quotes from the musicians themselves in real time, as well as their revised versions years after-the-fact) and weaving it into a compelling condensed narrative. Behind the scenes it seems money and fame, and especially near-religious adulation, makes people insane. Every Beatle comes across as a nut-job, none more so than Lennon, but all seem just as equally forgivable and likable. Really good juicy stuff for those whose eyes glaze over at all the sanitized authorized official Beatles hagiographies that hide the warts & sex & drugs, etc.
-
[quote name='Dodge' timestamp='1364420494' post='355240']<br />
he probably doesn't realise that...<br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
Ah I see ...<br />
<br />
... so no more Discworld <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/rugby/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':(' /> -
[b][i]Bad Science[/i][/b] by Ben Goldacre:<br />
- An exploration of the misunderstanding, misuse and misapplication of science in mainstream media and public relations, and how public conceptions have been manipulated as a result.<br />
<br />
Stumbled over this in the library. Was like reading a 320 page rant by Baron Silas Greenback. Great fun!!<br />
<br />
Basically had a crack about everything from the cosmetics industry, alternative medicine, “nutritionismâ€, big pharma, MRSA scares and the MMR hoax.<br />
<br />
Some seriously scary stuff in there, especially how easily led the general public can be on the back of a cult of personality, and the media’s need to sensationalise in search of profits.<br />
<br />
His emotions are quite clear throughout the book …<br />
<br />
He does try and explain “science†in as much as it’s all about experimenting, testing hypotheses, proper use of statistics, trying to avoid bias in your deductions and putting your findings up for criticism – which at times got nerdy (author’s own description) – as opposed to weird-arse claims like “eat green leaf vegetables as the chlorophyll gives you oxygenâ€, and the claim that “free radicals†are good for you.<br />
<br />
Homeopathy was well in his sights. I know we had a thread on here a month or two back but I must have skipped over the details as I didn’t realise just how stupid it is: i.e., infusing water with ingredients that replicate symptoms, banging the solution on a surface so the water “remembers†the ingredient, then diluting the water to such an extent that to have any single molecule of the ingredient left in it would require a volume of water equivalent to a sphere with the diameter of the earth’s orbit of the sun … and then making a sugar pill out of it. So scary it’s funny.<br />
<br />
Seems to have a particular hatred for alternative medicines, he has a crack at some British media personalities (Gillian McKeith – who is some sort of diet “guru†– Pommie based Ferners may have come across her), identifies the MRSA superbug scares as being the result of a testing laboratory run out of a garden shed by a bloke with a mail order “PhDâ€, and generally has a crack at any organisation (including the established big pharmaceutical companies) who use distorted data to sell a point of view.<br />
<br />
But most important of all, in his chapter on [b]perception bias[/b], is his conclusion that “[b]the behaviour of sporting teams which wear black is rated as more aggressive and unfair than teams which wear white[/b]†is a result of “disproportionate bias†(chapter 12, page 237)*.<br />
<br />
I see he has more data here - [url="http://www.badscience.net/"]http://www.badscience.net/[/url]<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
----<br />
-
- some may claim this is "cherry picking" ...
- An exploration of the misunderstanding, misuse and misapplication of science in mainstream media and public relations, and how public conceptions have been manipulated as a result.<br />
-
[quote name='booboo' timestamp='1364932239' post='356546']<br />
Was like reading a 320 page rant by Baron Silas Greenback. Great fun!![/quote]<br />
<br />
What, the first chapter just called you an idiot without giving any reasons, but was willing to expand its point in subsequent chapters only after being pressed, spiraling upwards and onwards in an increasingly curmudgeonly manner?<br />
<br />
<img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/rugby/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> -
[url="http://www.iain-banks.net/"]http://www.iain-banks.net/[/url]<br />
<br />
<br />
[quote]<br />
<br />
[size=4][b] [url="http://www.iain-banks.net/2013/04/03/a-personal-statement-from-iain-banks/"]A Personal Statement from Iain Banks[/url][/b]<br />
<br />
[color=#111111][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]April 3rd, 2013 in [url="http://www.iain-banks.net/category/from-the-author/"]From the Author[/url][/font][/color]<br />
[color=#111111][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I am officially Very Poorly.[/font][/color]<br />
[color=#111111][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]After a couple of surgical procedures, I am gradually recovering from jaundice caused by a blocked bile duct, but that - it turns out - is the least of my problems.[/font][/color]<br />
[color=#111111][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I first thought something might be wrong when I developed a sore back in late January, but put this down to the fact I'd started writing at the beginning of the month and so was crouched over a keyboard all day. When it hadn't gone away by mid-February, I went to my GP, who spotted that I had jaundice. Blood tests, an ultrasound scan and then a CT scan revealed the full extent of the grisly truth by the start of March.[/font][/color]<br />
[color=#111111][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I have cancer. It started in my gall bladder, has infected both lobes of my liver and probably also my pancreas and some lymph nodes, plus one tumour is massed around a group of major blood vessels in the same volume, effectively ruling out any chance of surgery to remove the tumours either in the short or long term.[/font][/color]<br />
[color=#111111][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The bottom line, now, I'm afraid, is that as a late stage gall bladder cancer patient, I'm expected to live for 'several months' and it’s extremely unlikely I'll live beyond a year. So it looks like my latest novel, The Quarry, will be my last.[/font][/color]<br />
[color=#111111][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]As a result, I've withdrawn from all planned public engagements and I've asked my partner Adele if she will do me the honour of becoming my widow (sorry - but we find ghoulish humour helps). By the time this goes out we'll be married and on a short honeymoon. We intend to spend however much quality time I have left seeing friends and relations and visiting places that have meant a lot to us. Meanwhile my heroic publishers are doing all they can to bring the publication date of my new novel forward by as much as four months, to give me a better chance of being around when it hits the shelves.[/font][/color]<br />
[color=#111111][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]There is a possibility that it might be worth undergoing a course of chemotherapy to extend the amount of time available. However that is still something we're balancing the pros and cons of, and anyway it is out of the question until my jaundice has further and significantly, reduced.<br />
Lastly, I'd like to add that from my GP onwards, the professionalism of the medics involved - and the speed with which the resources of the NHS in Scotland have been deployed - has been exemplary, and the standard of care deeply impressive. We're all just sorry the outcome hasn't been more cheerful.[/font][/color]<br />
[color=#111111][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A website is being set up where friends, family and fans can leave messages for me and check on my progress. It should be up and running during this week and a link to it will be here on my official website as soon as it’s ready.[/font][/color]<br />
[color=#111111][font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Iain Banks[/font][/color][/size]<br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
A sad day -
[quote name='NTA' timestamp='1365064986' post='356865']<br />
What, the first chapter just called you an idiot without giving any reasons, but was willing to expand its point in subsequent chapters only after being pressed, spiraling upwards and onwards in an increasingly curmudgeonly manner?<br />
<br />
<img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/rugby/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /><br />
[/quote] But could it be kept down to 320 pages? -
[quote name='NTA' timestamp='1365064986' post='356865']<br />
What, the first chapter just called you an idiot without giving any reasons, but was willing to expand its point in subsequent chapters only after being pressed, spiraling upwards and onwards in an increasingly curmudgeonly manner?<br />
<br />
<img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/rugby/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /><br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
Pretty much. Only he was calling other people idiots. Which is, I suppose, what allowed it to be fun. <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/rugby/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> -
[quote name='NTA' timestamp='1365076716' post='356889']<br />
Provided mooshld and MajorRage don't try to read it, yes.<br />
[/quote]Big ask. -
[quote name='dK' timestamp='1365065958' post='356867']<br />
[url="http://www.iain-banks.net/"]http://www.iain-banks.net/[/url]<br />
<br />
A sad day<br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
Yeah, thats a pisser, the Culture novels are some of the best stuff going, Surface Detail was just superb, stack of moments where I actually just paused & went "thats fucking awesome" -
Curmudgeonly???<br />
<br />
You are an idiot.<br />
<br />
And Booboo... welcome to the 'Homeopathy is only believed by retards' club. As a junior member you have to clean my shoes.
