Read a good book lately?

**jrandom** · 19th February 2012, 17:00

Have I mentioned Iain M. Banks on this thread yet?

I'm currently re-reading Consider Phlebas. He's the best writer of hard sf in the history of the genre, IMHO.

However, what I really need to pimp here is the work of Katherine Kerr, in particular the Deverry series of fantasy novels, which I've just finished.

If you value my opinion in the slightest, please, do yourself a favour and start reading them.

**jrandom** · 19th February 2012, 17:04

Anyone in here have a Kindle? I'm thinking of getting one next payday. Comments welcome.

**Usarka** · 19th February 2012, 17:11

I seriously considered it, but I got put off the kindle because as far as i could work out you don't actually "own" the book, and it's not portable to other readers. For the latter, I believe there is software that may help. For the former, Amazon reached out and deleted all the copies of 1984 that it sold. Excellent choice of book to do it to!

**jrandom** · 19th February 2012, 17:16

Originally Posted by Usarka

I seriously considered it, but I got put off the kindle because as far as i could work out you don't actually "own" the book, and it's not portable to other readers. For the latter, I believe there is software that may help. For the former, Amazon reached out and deleted all the copies of 1984 that it sold. Excellent choice of book to do it to!

Surely the Kindle has the ability to read HTML / text / open-format ebook files? Or is it locked down? Must be rootable with some minor effort. I just want the hardware.

I want one because it's actually designed for the purpose I'll be using it for - screen readability, battery life, etc. Laptops and even tablets don't quite fit the bill.

**Usarka** · 19th February 2012, 17:24

Kindle doesn't do epub, but there is an app (caliber?) that you can use to convert. i absolutely agree about the readability, price, etc. I just got put off by the proprietariness of it (prob more emotional than logical). Oh, and the free-ness and onlineliness of auckland libraries.

**HenryDorsetCase** · 19th February 2012, 17:27

Originally Posted by Usarka

Quarantine - Greg Egan

I'd run out of books by my fav sci-fi authors so i used http://www.literature-map.com/ and found Greg Egan.

Quarantine probably falls into the "hard" sci-fi camp (whatever that means), and is set around 2080. It dives head first into the mind bending subject of quantum mechanics, multiple probability states etc, all while being a bloody good read. If the rest of his stuff is like this then yay I have a new author to read.

A couple of pages back I bleated about the death of science fiction, but I think its got some life left in it yet.

Just finished THE WINDUP GIRL by Paolo Bacigalupi. It won a bunch of awards (Hugo, Nebula, John W Campbell) and it is excellent. Very accomplished for a first published novel.

Science fiction is always about "now" and whatever todays big issues are (Star Trek (TOS) - Cold War, Stand on Zanzibar - overcrowding/population growth etc) and this novel is about stuff that is current: So the end of oil, climate change, genetic engineering. Totally worth reading.

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Wind.../9781441866882

**HenryDorsetCase** · 19th February 2012, 17:30

currently reading

FROM THE VELVETS TO THE VOIDOIDS by Clinton Heylin

basically all the music I love: this is where it started.

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/From.../9781556525759

Its meant I revisited a lot of music I havent heard for years too. Easy to hit the "big 3" on repeat all the time (Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads) and nothing wrong with that, but listening to Television, various compilations I have, and some old vinyl is worthwhile.

anyone got a copy of the first Suicide album?

**Ocean1** · 19th February 2012, 18:33

Originally Posted by Usarka

Kindle doesn't do epub, but there is an app (caliber?) that you can use to convert. i absolutely agree about the readability, price, etc. I just got put off by the proprietariness of it (prob more emotional than logical). Oh, and the free-ness and onlineliness of auckland libraries.

It's not difficult to dislike their style. The product, in this case is very good. I'm assuming they'll continue to add titles in a timely manner.

jrandom, consider getting the backlit model.

**Winston001** · 25th February 2012, 23:03

For the claustrophobic and the imaginative this book is either a 10 or a 1. To be honest I'm still having heebie jeebies thinking about what extreme cavers do. Cavers are a special group who hold my utmost respect.

There aren't many books on caving compared with mountain climbing, and this is a first for me.

Blind Descent is about the efforts over 20 years by two teams on different continents exploring to find the deepest cave on Earth. Sounds simple enough but the expeditions truly are reminiscent of the huge assaults on Everest and K2. It takes a lot of people and weeks of time to haul supplies and rigging 1000m down so half a dozen can attempt to squirm through squeezes, meanders, and sumps in the hope of descending further. Then these obsessive troglodytes come back a year later to do it all again hoping for a further 50m of the system.

As well, there is the exciting sport of cave diving. You haul scuba gear 500m underground so you can dive into sumps (pools, lakes, ponds, rivers) where you hope to slip through slots or holes and eventually come up in a deeper part of the cave system. In nearly zero visibility because of silt.

Just to make things interesting sometimes it rains on the surface but being 1-2 days down you won't know about that until the water starts rising.

This book reminded me of Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, the iconic Everest adventure story. The climb that killed Scott Fischer and Rob Hall while Krakauer survived.

My system of rating books is whether I would lend this to a friend and still want it back. Blind Descent gets that vote. Recommended.

Edit: if I had a choice of being badly injured on the South-West Col of Everest or in one of these supercaves, I'd take the mountain every time.

**Swoop** · 28th February 2012, 08:23

Phoenix Flight by Roland White.

British Honduras (Belize) in central America is threatened with invasion by Guatemala.
Britain despatches the last carrier HMS Ark Royal on a "throttle to the floor" dash across the Atlantic ocean before an invasion can commence, then launch four Buccaneer bombers on a mission that will last for over six hours and leave their fuel tanks empty on their return to the ship.

A great political build up of the story, interspersed with the training the aircraft crews went through on normal deployments. Scaring US fighter pilots at Red Flag by flying so low that they could only be detected visually by the dust trail the aircraft left behind as they flew across the ground, and inviting European aircrews to follow them through the Scottish ravines of the highlands. The Crews loved flying down the edge of the lochs, looking UP at motorists' driving along the road at the edge of the lake!

1972. When the Phantom and the Buccaneer ruled supreme!

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A great book! 9/10.

**Macontour** · 28th February 2012, 08:38

Any of Lee Childs Jack Reacher books. I find I can't put them down and every time I re-read one, I find all the great parts that I had forgotten.

The books are full of little twists and of course Reacher is the kind of guy I am sure we all aspire to be!!

**HenryDorsetCase** · 28th February 2012, 09:12

Originally Posted by Macontour

Any of Lee Childs Jack Reacher books. I find I can't put them down and every time I re-read one, I find all the great parts that I had forgotten.

The books are full of little twists and of course Reacher is the kind of guy I am sure we all aspire to be!!

Plus he looks just like Tom Cruise, so theres a bonus....

**Zedder** · 28th February 2012, 09:35

Originally Posted by Swoop

Phoenix Flight by Roland White.

British Honduras (Belize) in central America is threatened with invasion by Guatemala.
Britain despatches the last carrier HMS Ark Royal on a "throttle to the floor" dash across the Atlantic ocean before an invasion can commence, then launch four Buccaneer bombers on a mission that will last for over six hours and leave their fuel tanks empty on their return to the ship.

A great political build up of the story, interspersed with the training the aircraft crews went through on normal deployments. Scaring US fighter pilots at Red Flag by flying so low that they could only be detected visually by the dust trail the aircraft left behind as they flew across the ground, and inviting European aircrews to follow them through the Scottish ravines of the highlands. The Crews loved flying down the edge of the lochs, looking UP at motorists' driving along the road at the edge of the lake!

1972. When the Phantom and the Buccaneer ruled supreme!

A great book! 9/10.

Have you read "Flight of the Intruder" by US Navy pilot Stephen Coonts?

**avgas** · 28th February 2012, 09:53

Originally Posted by jrandom

Surely the Kindle has the ability to read HTML / text / open-format ebook files? Or is it locked down? Must be rootable with some minor effort. I just want the hardware.

I want one because it's actually designed for the purpose I'll be using it for - screen readability, battery life, etc. Laptops and even tablets don't quite fit the bill.

Wife got the basic model - seems to work quite good. I am hoping to inherit it so I can use it for a pdf reader (I have 10000's of pdfs).
Battery life is good - we get about 3 weeks out of a charge. You get more if you actually turn it off.

Thing that pisses me of is NO BACKLITE..........even if it had a single LED I would be happy. Might have to hack it.

**avgas** · 28th February 2012, 09:59

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fountainhead
I am down to the last 40 pages of this MASSIVE book.
I ran out of food around page 300. They took my home after page 400.
Makes the dictionary/lord of the rings trilogy/harry potter series feel like a walk in the park.

Good book though. Even if it is a Marathon event. Thank god the movie was brief.