Read a good book lately?

**moko** · 9th August 2004, 09:20

Anyone who`s a fan of good crime fiction should check out Ian Rankin and also Mark Billingham,both consistently excellent,Rankin started out fairly run of the mill but has improved with each book.I`m currently reading Billingham`s new one "The Burning Girl"started this afternoon,quick check on here for an e-mail I`m expecting and to stick my nose in here and I`ll finish it in an hours time.As wkid-one says Stephen Leather is an excellent writer as well,"The Chinaman" is my favourite so far though I`ve not read "Hard Landing".

**KATWYN** · 9th August 2004, 10:21

Originally Posted by moko

Just read "Lovely Green Eyes" by Arnold Lustig,pretty harrowing stuff about a girl in Auschwitz who denies that she`s Jewish(knowing she`d be gassed if she hadn`t) and volunteers(if that`s the right word)to be a prostitute in a German field-Brothel.Might sound like sleazy exploitative shit but it`s far from it.Shows the true barbarity and madness of war and in particular the psychopathic nature of the Nazis.Really good bit about the main character telling a Rabbi of her experiences,she`s accepted what she went through,saw and heard while he`s driven to the point of madness by what she tells him and seriously questions his God.It`s written by a survivor of Auschwitz and his descriptions of what went on are all the more powerful for not being sensationalist,just "this is what happened",and what happened was truly horrific and made me at least wonder how people can sink to the depths they do.Scary resonance with recent events in Iraq as well,nowhere near the same scale but the same contempt for other human beings who are seen as somehow inferior,the bringing out of the baser side of human nature.

That book sounds interesting. Is it non fiction ? or is it fiction based on the author drawing on actual past experiences and putting it in a story?

**moko** · 9th August 2004, 11:14

Originally Posted by KATWYN

That book sounds interesting. Is it non fiction ? or is it fiction based on the author drawing on actual past experiences and putting it in a story?

It`s fiction KATWYN but the author was in Auschwitz and a couple of other concentration camps himself,hard to explain but I`ve read a few "survivor`s" true stories but this seemed to hit home more,I think because it`s so understated.I got the author`s name wrong by the way,it`s Arnost Lustig,not Arnold.
Review here that dosnt give much of the story away

http://www.arcadepub.com/book/index....55970100312930

**MikeL** · 9th August 2004, 11:24

Originally Posted by dhunt

I got to learn stuff I wanted to, as well as the stuff that I sought of had to.
David

... but spelling obviously wasn't part of it.

Sorry, the pedant in me couldn't resist...

**Dr Bob** · 9th August 2004, 11:35

Originally Posted by RiderInBlack

Just finished "Stranger In A Strange Land" Robert A. Heinlein. An Oldie but a goodie. Would freak out a few people in the Reg. Rav. Thread if I started to quote it!
......Julian May - The Saga Of The Exlies (The Many-Coloured Land, etc).
Douglas Adams - THHGTTG Series
Most of The Star Trek Next Gen Series (books). Thats why one of my cats is called Kahless

John Wyndham - The Day Of The Triffids, The Chrysalids
Frank Herbert - too many to list but most favourite ones are The Green Brain, The Whipping Star and Destination Void (another one that would fu*k a few in the Reg Rav Thread)
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I grok your first thing.

If you liked the Saga of the exiles, Julian May has written another series about the galactic melieu, I've got one of them at home (or was it one book and the series is about something else? can't remember now).

I got half way reading this thread and nobody has mentioned Philip K. Dick, he is/was my favourite Scifi writer.

And to MikeL, I have already written one book - but it was non fiction, now I have to work on the fiction {I have a screen play in progress at the moment, but it is a killer trying to do it}.

**Dr Bob** · 9th August 2004, 11:39

Originally Posted by RiderInBlack

OK just for you Wari:
The Saggy Baggy Elephant
The Pokey Puppy
The Scrawny Lion

I thought it was the Pokey little puppy, and of course the sequel, the pokey little puppy goes to sesame street.

**Kickaha** · 9th August 2004, 11:52

Originally Posted by Dr Bob

I got half way reading this thread and nobody has mentioned Philip K. Dick, he is/was my favourite Scifi writer.

I've read Philp K Dick "Do androids dream of electric sheep" and liked it,which was filmed as Bladerunner.

Just been of to the library and got out
Jack Higgins : A Season in Hell
Raymond E Feist : Krondor The Assasins
Douglas Adams : Resturant at the end of the Universe (read it many times)
Claudia Orange : An Illustrated history of the Treaty of Waitangi
David Wragg :Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory (military blunders)

after years of avoiding it I am now turning to a bit of non fiction,mainly to learn a bit more about NZ history.

**jrandom** · 9th August 2004, 11:59

Originally Posted by Kickaha

Raymond E Feist : Krondor The Assasins

Never could get enthusiastic about REF. His writing style always seemed a bit strained and hack-like, and the mindless, unspirited ripping-off of Tolkien was depressing.

**jrandom** · 9th August 2004, 12:03

Originally Posted by Kickaha

I've read Philp K Dick "Do androids dream of electric sheep" and liked it,which was filmed as Bladerunner.

Indeed. Read PKD or Harlan Ellison when you need a bit of brain-bending but don't happen to have any LSD on hand. I always need a walk in the sunshine followed by a stiff glass of reality and soda after a session with either of those two.

**Dr Bob** · 9th August 2004, 15:37

If you want any old SciFi drop me a PM I have quite a few that I don't mind parting with (or exchange for that matter).

**duckman** · 9th August 2004, 15:43

Just started "The De Vinci Code" (sp) - 4 Chapters in and I'm hooked.

**bungbung** · 9th August 2004, 16:01

I spent some of my time on planes and at airports reading "'The O-zone" by Paul Theroux. Google for reviews. I rate it worth reading.

**rodgerd** · 9th August 2004, 16:08

"The Separation" by Christopher Priest is a very well-written alternative history with twist, based around Hess's "peace flight" to Britain. Well researched, very well written. Priest is an under-rated sci fi author.

"Coelacanth" by Samantha Weinberg. Story of the rediscovery of the fish in the 20th century, and the ongoing efforts to study and protect it. Some great photos, very well written, really cracking read.

**RiderInBlack** · 9th August 2004, 18:03

Originally Posted by Dr Bob

If you want any old SciFi drop me a PM I have quite a few that I don't mind parting with (or exchange for that matter).

Name them (please) as I am trying to rebuild mine and am missing a few book in different series.

**James Deuce** · 9th August 2004, 18:15

Originally Posted by jrandom

Indeed. Read PKD or Harlan Ellison when you need a bit of brain-bending but don't happen to have any LSD on hand. I always need a walk in the sunshine followed by a stiff glass of reality and soda after a session with either of those two.

Algis Budrys is good at provoking an hallucenogenic response.