What Are You Reading?

[Tagmatium Rules]

As the title, really (or should that be ready, as in read-y).

 

I've recently finished the graphic novel, V for Vendetta, spurred on by the recent release of the film, US' thread and Van's avatar.

 

I thought it was good and intelligent, but it's the first graphic novel I've ever read.

 

I did have one issue, though. The fact that V's based on Guy Fawkes. It does make for a unique character. Superifically, they are the same. V blows up Parliament, Fawkes wanted to. But the reasons are totally different. V wants to make an Anarchist paradise after bringing down the Fascist "Norsefire" government, Fawkes, more specifically the group Fawkes was in, wanted to bring the Wars of Religion to England. Fawkes was a Catholic English explosives expert, a veteran from the Netherlands wars, having fought for the Spanish against the Dutch.

 

Whoops, that turned into a bit of a rant...

 

Anyways, what books have you recently read, and what did you think of them?

[Upper Strathyclyde]

I've just finished up the last chapter of 'Russian Politics and Society'. Its a good look into the political, societal and Economic outlook on Post-Soviet Ers Russia. It examines not only the large Economic Hurdles that Russia needs to cross, but also the troubling trends that the current Administration is taking, most notably the repression of Free Press and speech.

[Ide Jima]

I just finished reading 'the last kingdom' by Bernard Cornwell. It's a good read, but I found too similar to the Sharpe novels.

[Tagmatium Rules]

I read that a while ago. I don't think it was that similar to the Sharpe novels, and the fact it's from the first person does give it a bit of a different spin.

 

One book I'm reading currently is Alan Bullock's Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives. It weighs in at over 1100 pages, but, happily, is actually a very good read. There's nothing worse than getting a history book relevant to your course (I'm doing Stalin) that ends up reading like a list of facts.

[Upper Strathyclyde]

Tag, have you read Stalin's Last Crime?

[Rekamgil]

I'm reading too much! 8 books last week... ugh.. But I have to. Anyway, the LAST book was "On Strategy" By Col. Harry Summers. He served in the Vietnam war and he tries to explain why they lost that war. He suggests that the army needed to be able to attack the North, not just attack the Vietcong in the south or the NVA if it happened to invade. Also, they should have sought a formal declaration of war, and not hidden the true nature of the war from the US people, because when they found out the full extent, it came as a terrible blow to morale... he also talks about a bunch of other stuff. It's pretty good, but doesn't take political constraints in Washington into account enough... such as the idea that they never thought they could invade N.Vietnam with ground troops for fear that Communist China would intervene like they had in Korea. But overall quite interesting. He LOVES Clausewitz and quotes him at length, which is both good and bad...

[Ide Jima]

Anyone else here read 'Stalingrad' by Antony Beevor? I read pretty much all of it, before I realised I had only 3 days to read all of Tom Brown's Schooldays for college and had to break off right towards the end. I found it really interesting, but it made me frustrated at Hitler ... telling his generals what to do like that.

[Bashovia and Erbery]

"Nuer Journeys, Nuer Lives" by Jon D. Holtzman. It's an ethnographic study about the challenges of Sudanese from the animist south of the country accomodating to life in Minnesota as resettled refugees. Pretty interesting.

[Haken]

Anyone else here read 'Stalingrad' by Antony Beevor? I read pretty much all of it, before I realised I had only 3 days to read all of Tom Brown's Schooldays for college and had to break off right towards the end. I found it really interesting, but it made me frustrated at Hitler ... telling his generals what to do like that.

Well, the war was won because he did that.

[Tagmatium Rules]

Tag, have you read Stalin's Last Crime?

Nah, this is the first time I've read any of this sort of book.

 

My course runs from the death of Lenin and the Power Struggle, through the Purges and Collectivisation to a couple of years before WWII.

 

Plus, I wasn't originally going to do Stalin, rather the Mid-Tudor crisis, but the exam board decided otherwise, so my interests did really fall that way.

[Tamurin]

Wow, so many people reading military history...I though that was just me...

 

Well, the last months I've been reading classic SciFi - the whole Robots- and Foundation-Cycle of Isaac Asimov. Now I'm reading "Pushing Ice", written by Alastair Reynolds. I still have some other books to read I got for birthday and christmas (some of them from last year's birthday and Christmas 2004).

 

AND (my personal present from me to myself) - the complete autobiography from Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, completed in the last years of his live in the 90s of the 19th century, published in 1919. I'm definitely looking forward to reading about the Imperial Age, written by the hand of one of the architects of the imperial system of the late 19th century.

[Orioni]

Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mijn verhaal [Dutch for 'My story']

I bought the book last year, but did not have the time to read the entire book yet. I'm stuck halfway. But I guess I already know where it will end.

 

Catherine Jinks, Der Tod des Inquisitors [German for 'The death of the inquisitor']

A book that was recommended to me by my uncle. It's in written German, but I'm trying to train that my language skills ago, so no big deal.

 

Fernand Braudel, Beschaving, economie en kapitalisme (15-18 eeuw) [Dutch for 'Civilisation, economy and kapitalism (15-18 century)']

No specific interest here, just reading it because I have to.

[Adaptus]

Currently i'm half way through "Nineteen Eighty-Four" by George Orwell, it's a good read. It tells the story of Winston Smith, and a harsh, socialist governemnt, which "edits" history to meet it's current needs. It leads to Winston realising how much he dispises the party, and how many other people do also, but thats about all i can say about it at this moment in time.

 

A book i've been thinking about reading is "The Turner Diaries". It's suposd to be the blueprint for a facist revolution in America, and is the reason behing alot of the stand offs in America during the late 80's and early 90's. I just want to see whats so special about it.

[Tamurin]

Orioni: If you have a problem with that inquisitor-book you can always ask me. German is the one language I really know well.

[Upper Strathyclyde]

Hey, Adapt. HAve you seen 1984 the movie?

 

 

 

Anyways, I am now reading:

 

 

A Vision Unfufilled: A look at the USSR in The 20th century

 

 

A Semester College Book Course that explains the Failures of the Soviet System from "War communism" and the NEP to The Policies of Glasnost and the Reforms of Gorbachev.

[Nan Gorgwaith]

Uh let's see..

 

I finished Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant recently. I always wanted to read what he had to say and knowing he finished them barely before his death.

 

Now I want to read his co-worker/general's, (Sherman) biography, I have it somewhere...

 

I also have Duel of Eagles (Battle of Britain) by Townsend and In the Wake of the Plague (Black Death History) by Cantor on tap to read as well (not to mention gobs of others I just have not gotten to yet, as well as re-reading all the SciFi/Fantasy books I have gathered over the years)

 

Sadly, my reading is on hold while I try to re-learn math for a stupid test that determines whether or not I am smart enough to get a Masters degree in something that does not use math.

[Adaptus]

@US: Nah, never knew there was a 1984 movie

[Ravenhelm]

Letitia Baldridge's Complete Guide to Executive Manners

[Rekamgil]

Ursula K. LeGuin - The Dispossessed

 

(now that I can read for pleasure again!)

[Belfastania]

Angels Flight- Michael Conelly

 

Another Bosch book, great detective thriller, highly recommended.

[Salvinoria]

Alice in Wonderland by Caroll

[Haken]

"Humo" from Guy Mortier.

[Rennd]

ummm.... I just finished reading war of the worlds by H.G wells. Well its a fantastic book, i like his style of sci-fi as it often involves families and relationships as well as the fighting and destruction

 

I give it 4 thumbs up!

 

 

lol

 

 

[Ide Jima]

Edexcel AS Level History Revision Notes. A good read

[Rennd]

lol

 

Are you currently an a-level student? Im doing my GCSE exams this month, their quite hard, any luck with the a-levels?

 

edit: I do history at gcse,

Edited May 13, 2006 by Rennd (see edit history)