What book are you reading...

Don’t Let Them Bag the Nines: The First World War Memoir of a de Havilland Pilot - Captain F. Williams MC DFC

A diary of a WW1 Bomber Pilot rather than a Scout.

By gum, it makes you really reflect and think how lucky we are. I always thought that WW1 bombers were sitting ducks, in reality (the later models) quite the opposite; were formidable opponents.

Some genuine heartbreaking moments, the book is based on diaries of a pilot at the time (1918). When Capt. Williams describes a mission as certain suicide, by god, it must have been bad.
 
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Re-reading Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson, first book in the Baroque Cycle trilogy.

First read it in 2004 and, whilst the series is a mammoth slog to get through, I seem to recall really enjoying it. There are a few other books I have lined up but can't be bothered to start a new but unfinished series at present. I'd rather read something that's complete.
 
melmac said:
We are Legion (We are Bob) and For We are many by Dennis E. Taylor. The first two books in the Bobiverse series. I think there are 3 more. The books are about Bob, he is a rich guy in this time who dies in accident but has paid to be cryogenically frozen in the event of his death. He wakes up many years later to find that he has been uploaded into computer hardware to become an AI that's going to control a probe launched into space to find habitable planets and save mankind. He is called a replicant and can make copies of himself. His probe is also equipped with 3D printers that can print anything and some lesser AI's.

Got me hooked in the first few chapters. But then got really silly really fast. Bobs can't die, they just back themselves up and replicate themselves again. Bobs are annoying. They sit around in VR spaces that they craft for themselves and drink coffee. They are supposed to be coming off as cool and funny. Bob laughs at his own jokes more than I did. The VR thing is annoying as hell, the Author spends a lot of time describing the areas that the Bobs have made for themselves. Oh, I should point out that there is only one Bob called Bob, the others are pick their own names, Mario, Howard, Goku etc. But they are all made from Bob. Hence the Bobiverse.

I didn't bother to finish the second book.
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I've just finished the audio book of book 1 and am starting book 2. So far loving it. Perhaps the narrator does a great job as I quite like the nerdy Bobs' and all the nerdy references. Don't mind all the VR either as I loved that in the Culture novels and the VR the "Minds" create for themselves and the personalities they are hosting.
 
toshj said:
Re-reading Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson, first book in the Baroque Cycle trilogy.

First read it in 2004 and, whilst the series is a mammoth slog to get through, I seem to recall really enjoying it. There are a few other books I have lined up but can't be bothered to start a new but unfinished series at present. I'd rather read something that's complete.
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I'm not sure I could do that again, the thing I remember most about it is the epic slog, rather than the book itself!

Catching up on some classics I'm missing atm, started Brave New World last night.
 
Colonel_Klinck said:
I've just finished the audio book of book 1 and am starting book 2. So far loving it. Perhaps the narrator does a great job as I quite like the nerdy Bobs' and all the nerdy references. Don't mind all the VR either as I loved that in the Culture novels and the VR the "Minds" create for themselves and the personalities they are hosting.
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Decided to finish the series since I could get it on loan on my kindle. And, my mind hasn't changed, I really didn't like these books. They must come come across better in audio format.

The nerdy comments are ok in the beginning but they get annoying later on. The constant wave of making the bobs cool, hip and funny in every situation wears you down. The Bobs have an answer to every problem, even against the superior technology and numerical advantage of the Others. Making immature jokes all the while.

The books just weren't for me I guess.

Did you finish the series out?
 
Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis, the third of his I've read in last few weeks - The Undoing Project and and The Big Short being the other two. Also kind of reading Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman ( one of the subjects of The Undoing Project ) and Drunk Tank Pink ( not sure who by as not to hand but psychology book )
 
melmac said:
Decided to finish the series since I could get it on loan on my kindle. And, my mind hasn't changed, I really didn't like these books. They must come come across better in audio format.

The nerdy comments are ok in the beginning but they get annoying later on. The constant wave of making the bobs cool, hip and funny in every situation wears you down. The Bobs have an answer to every problem, even against the superior technology and numerical advantage of the Others. Making immature jokes all the while.

The books just weren't for me I guess.

Did you finish the series out?
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Yeah I did and enjoyed them. I'll give you that the end of book 3 is a big leap in tech to pull off lol ands almost seemed to just be thrown in, Oh we've been working on this for a few years and boom here you go! I won't mention the plot as I don't want to spoil it.
I do think the narrator is great for these books as he captures the character perfectly without making him/them annoying. When we read books we create our own mental image where as in audio book they do. Maybe this is a better one where they do.
 
Finally onto The Expanse book 8 - Tiamats Wrath now it's out in paperback.

Feel a bit disconnected along the first few chapters, it's almost like it's referring to things from the last book which aren't there. I hope it elaborates a little further in on events mentioned.
 
Lartyconshayo said:
Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis
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How you getting on with it? I spend all day talking bond traders and salespeople... the industry has moved on somewhat since this book was published... but not by much!

I really enjoy the book as well as The Big Short. Moneyball is also great, and very different from the film.
 
neoboy said:
Well after who knows how many years of on and off reading, finished the Arisen series.

Things certainly got pretty ridiculous in later books but then again it was never the most realistic series. Rolled my eyes a few times, cringed here and there at the story but all in all pretty entertaining for a an easy to read and follow series.

Any other zombie stuff I've missed out on over last few years that's worth checking out?
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@neoboy

Have you tried the zombie series by Nicholas sansbury smith? Its called the Extinction Cycle series, first book called Extinction Horizon.
Its similar to Arisen, which I've also read and enjoyed, but i actually think its better than that.
 
toshj said:
How you getting on with it? I spend all day talking bond traders and salespeople... the industry has moved on somewhat since this book was published... but not by much!

I really enjoy the book as well as The Big Short. Moneyball is also great, and very different from the film.
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Still early days but yeah seems a bit 'quaint' after reading the big short
 
Bungee said:
@neoboy

Have you tried the zombie series by Nicholas sansbury smith? Its called the Extinction Cycle series, first book called Extinction Horizon.
Its similar to Arisen, which I've also read and enjoyed, but i actually think its better than that.
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Don't believe so, will check it out, thanks!
 
melmac said:
That must be the case here, because it seems that most of the people who like the book on Goodreads listened to it :)
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I really enjoyed the series, it think it was written (or at least edited) specifically as an audio series - a lot of the dialogue is melancholic which may not come across on paper.
 
The book I'm working my way through now is called "Management of Sports Clubs" by Magnus Forslund. One of the books in a course about Sports Management I'm doing at uni. The author joined a sports club as he wanted to have something to do within sports again and in the end he ended up doing a scientific research project about running and managing an amateur sports club who had several different sport sections. Some of the things he brings up I can really recognise from when I was part of a sports club and think most clubs suffer from the same problems.
 
Just finished Recursion by Blake Crouch. Some mind bending ideas and a cracking good read. Burned through it far too quickly though :(

Need something else to read now...
 
Went through the 3 books in the Mark Lawrence - Book of the Ancestor series in the space of a week. Not really been a fan of Lawrence work in the past but this was easily the best thing of his that I'd read. Its no Book of the Fallen but its a decent enjoyable read.

Just started on the first book in the new Joe Abercrombie series.
 
"The rise and fall of the dinosaurs" by Steve Brusatte. An excellent book on dinosaurs. Being only a couple of years old now the science is still pretty up to date. Some staggering facts and thought-provoking ideas. One of those books I didn't want to end. It's accessible for anyone interested in dinosaurs but also technical enough for nerds.
It also helped me realise that despite being in my 40s, my love of Lego, Star Wars and dinosaurs essentially means my brain is that of an 8 year old boy. My wife thinks that's hysterical
 
I just finished Peter Ratcliffe's Eye of The Storm. An interesting account of SAS life. Lots to say about a certain Andy McNab...

About to move on to Wheel of Time Numero 3, The Dragon Reborn. I really enjoyed 1 and 2. I'm reading stuff inbetween each book to avoid burnout.
 
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