Read a good book lately?

[dhunt]

Lately I've been reading a lot of Robert Ludlum's books. Author of the Bourne Trilogy. Books are definitely much better than the movies. Most are mixture of sci-fi,action and thriller. All pretty good reading

[Blue Babe]

Books are usually better than the movie. ........ You can use your own imagination, which is much better than the producers imagination in movies.....

[Swoop]

Books are definitely much better than the movies.

As the saying goes... "Never judge a book by its movie".

[Magua]

I've been taking an English course at university this semester. I'm rather behind on my readings, but the last book I read I thoroughly enjoyed. Leo Tolstoy's Hadji Murat.

I just submitted an essay on the book a few days ago, so soon I will see how well I understood it, heh.

[Hitcher]

I've just read three science fiction books back-to-back -- the first sci fi I've read in about 15 years: Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan; and Old Man's War and The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi. I preferred the latter two. Altered Carbon, while having a strong plot, took a bit of keeping up with -- more characters than Dickens. Scalzi crafts a compelling read, but his plots are a bit ho hum -- no twists or surprises. The good guys win.

Now I'm touring North America with the Silk Riders.

[bell]

I've just re-read a few old Ludlum novels. All pre-Bourne trilogy. Might start on the Bourne Identity again. Will be hard not to compare the book to the films.

Can recommend:
Tim Flannery's The Furure Eaters and The Weather Makers
Tim Winton - Cloudstreet, Dirt Music
Nick Earls - Headgames, World of Chickens, Perfect Skin (actually, all of his are great reads. Brisbane based GP turned novellist)
Mark Bowden - Guests of the Ayatollah (definitive account of the Iranian hostage crisis)

Too many books, not enough hours in the day...

[Swoop]

Mark Bowden - Guests of the Ayatollah (definitive account of the Iranian hostage crisis)

What did you think of this? I spotted it in Whitcoulls the other day. His book on BHD was excellent and well researched and I guess GotA is the same - but is it too dry (fairly large book!).

[Disco Dan]

Books are usually better than the movie. ........ You can use your own imagination, which is much better than the producers imagination in movies.....

True. But my imagination does not like me. I start wondering if its really like that or I have got it wrong, start second guessing, re-reading, then I forget what the smeg it was all about in the first place and have to read the last chapter all over again.

[Nasty]

I have just finished booked by Janet Evanovich finished the Stephanie Plum series and am now reading the motormouth/barnaby series .. very funny ...

Also, have completed the Other Worldly Woman Series (sci-fi type) by Kelly Armstrong ... excellent reading for both authors.

[bell]

What did you think of this? I spotted it in Whitcoulls the other day. His book on BHD was excellent and well researched and I guess GotA is the same - but is it too dry (fairly large book!).

[strokes chin] Ummm... Yeah, I'd say it was a touch long. Only at the expense of being superbly researched. It really does get rather heavily into the prehistory of the actual event - and that is the subject of books in their own right.

The detail that he goes into is definitely a feature of the book. Everything from the way an embassy functions, the state of Iranian politics/fundamentalism at the time, the Special Ops planning, the 'rescue' mission, the geo-politics post 1979 and then a whole chapter or two of analysis that brings the relevance of the event back to the present day realities of the Middle East.

The more I think of it, the more I should re-read it one day soon. Yeah, it's worth the effort Swoop. Might see one on trademe?

$8 . Can't go wrong.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Books/Nonfi...-120343957.htm

[Swoop]

[strokes chin] Ummm... Yeah, I'd say it was a touch long. Only at the expense of being superbly researched.
The more I think of it, the more I should re-read it one day soon. Yeah, it's worth the effort Swoop. Might see one on trademe?

Ta for that. I once started, what I thought would be, an excellent book on the early combatants in the Vietnam war... written by a battallion commander (Airmobile).
What a BORING book! More numbers and statistics than an accounting convention.
This one gave me the same impression, but I will take your review into serious consideration!!

[Curious_AJ]

Books for the win!!

recently, I've been read some of the classics including : Alice in wonderland and through the looking glass (in a joint book, made for teaching etc, so it has a whole lot of stuff about the author and what different things in the book relate to etc)

Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde and the Weir of Hermiston (from the same series of teaching books as Alice in wonderland) ,, This one was particularely interesting, because The Weir of Hermiston was never finished, the guy died in the middle of writing it!

I'm not sure what I'm going to read after I finish the latest Harry Potter book which I started a few weeks ago (yes I know, its Harry, but I find them entertaining)...

Any Ideas for an avid Stephen King, Anne Rice, Phillip Pullman fan?? (interested in any types of books really, though fiction/fantasy/horror/thriller/mystery are amoung my favorite genres)

[Skyryder]

War of the Worlds. For those that are going to see Jeff Waynes version. Grab a read of the original first.


Skyryder

[Kickaha]

I've just finished the The old Kingdom series by Garth Nix which was a interesting mix of magic/necromancy with the occasion touch of more modern technolgy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Nix

[banditrider]

I'm starting to prefer non-fiction books and the latest one I read was "Miracle in the Andes" by Nando Parrado. Awesome read about the rugby team who's plane crashed in the Andes. Written by a survivor (1 of the 2 that walked out). Just amazing.

Also have read quite a few on Scott. Awesome stories about amazing guy's. "Captain Scott" by Ranuloh Fiennes is great as Fiennes has been there and done that. "Worst journey in the World" by Apsley Cherry-Garrand is also excellant and even Scott's own diary is worth a read if interested.

Not many bikes involved but great adventure stories...