Read any good books lately?
01-01-13, 11:29 AM
#126
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Cats Table by Michael Ondaatje. Loved it.
01-01-13, 11:30 AM
#127
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Always wanted to tackle Aubrey/Maturin, but didn't know where to start; is it best to start at the beginning, and go from there? Any recommendations?
Alan
01-01-13, 11:31 AM
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I read "The Secret Race" recently, Tyler Hamilton's reflections on a cheating peloton. Not pretty, but interesting. Actually, "not pretty" is an understatement.
01-01-13, 11:56 AM
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The Long Legged House by Wendell Berry. Excellent and inspiring
What is it like to go to War? By Karl Marlantes. Should be required reading on many levels.
What is it like to go to War? By Karl Marlantes. Should be required reading on many levels.
01-01-13, 12:00 PM
#130
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Also recently re-read, again, Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut. Easily on my top ten list. Maybe top 5.
01-01-13, 12:08 PM
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As regards the Lucky Jack Aubrey books, start at the beginning with Master and Commander; read up through about book 6, then go back and re-read them, and continue through to the end. They are extraordinary books, the characters are so finely drawn and so human. For my own part, I'm reading SM Stirlings novels of The Change; the Hunger Games books; selected Noam Chomsky essays; and Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. Yes, I'm one of those guys who has 3 or 4 books going all the time.
The last book I read was Deer Hunting With Jesus: Notes From The Class War by Joe Bageant. The author, a selfdescribed "left-neck," attempts to explain some aspects of small-town middle-class life to a broader audience. It is a less-academic, more personal version of What's The Matter With Kansas. It should be required reading for every liberal in the country.
The last book I read was Deer Hunting With Jesus: Notes From The Class War by Joe Bageant. The author, a selfdescribed "left-neck," attempts to explain some aspects of small-town middle-class life to a broader audience. It is a less-academic, more personal version of What's The Matter With Kansas. It should be required reading for every liberal in the country.
01-01-13, 02:20 PM
#132
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Book 4 (I think it is), The Mauritius Command, isn't essential to the story line though some of Aubrey's biographical events take place in it. Patrick O'Brian did not expect the series to go on so long. When the publisher asked him to write another book he based it on a real campaign of the Napoleanic wars, but it has a subtly different tone from the other books.
Start now. There is not a moment to lose!
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01-01-13, 05:41 PM
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The Aubrey/Maturin books have been one of the most satisfying reading experiences of my life. (Most satisfying: reading 'Lord of the Rings' aloud to my daughter, when she was 8 and 9, ending shortly before the first movie came out. Neither of the other children was interested in that, to my regret, though she tried to persuade them.)
I've read the whole A/M series I don't know how many times, starting around 1990 after I read a favorable review of one that had just been published in the US. I started with that one, then went to the beginning of the series, then over the next several years I would periodically give myself a 'running start' by rereading the series when a new one was due. It is a bit peculiar to pick one up in isolation, so I would recommend starting at the beginning. Patrick O'Brian's language is or seems to be authentically early 19th C. so takes a little bit of getting used to, but it grows on you. O'Brian's own favorite author was Jane Austen, and the characterizations and dialog, especially the parts in the English countryside, with courtships, houses, horses, etc, is very much in that vein, only from the masculine side. The books create a deep and fully realized world, one that richly rewards repeated visits.
I've read the whole A/M series I don't know how many times, starting around 1990 after I read a favorable review of one that had just been published in the US. I started with that one, then went to the beginning of the series, then over the next several years I would periodically give myself a 'running start' by rereading the series when a new one was due. It is a bit peculiar to pick one up in isolation, so I would recommend starting at the beginning. Patrick O'Brian's language is or seems to be authentically early 19th C. so takes a little bit of getting used to, but it grows on you. O'Brian's own favorite author was Jane Austen, and the characterizations and dialog, especially the parts in the English countryside, with courtships, houses, horses, etc, is very much in that vein, only from the masculine side. The books create a deep and fully realized world, one that richly rewards repeated visits.
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01-01-13, 06:19 PM
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Rough Ride (Paul Kimmage)
Sex, Lies and handlebar tape (Jaques Anquetil)
When we were young and carefree (Laurent Fignon)
Slaying the Badger (Bernard Henault)
The death of Marco Pantani (Marco Pantani)
History of TDF (tour de France)
Riis (Bjarne Riis)
01-01-13, 06:30 PM
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It's quite good.
01-01-13, 06:45 PM
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"Unbroken" It's the story of an Olympic runner who survived a ditching at sea and a Japanese POW camp. It's a great story and I was surprised to see the names of two people I knew growing up named as POW's.
01-01-13, 06:58 PM
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Always on the last read for me is one of the thirtysomething Discworld books by Terry Pratchett, also read several Chuck Palahniuk books. BG I have a B&N Nook, one of the best investments I have ever made. Have over 600 books in the size of a thin paperback, I don't have that kind of shelf space
01-01-13, 07:04 PM
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Yeah, me too. Like most folks, I knew there's been a lot of doping, but the extent and the methods described were indeed pretty shocking. One thing that surprised me is how crudely, from a medical point of view, a lot of the stuff is done.
01-01-13, 07:09 PM
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I just finished, Take the Cannoli by Sarah Vowell.
01-01-13, 07:21 PM
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I've gotten into the Dresden Files as of late. Almost done with the second one, and everybody tells me they keep getting better. 
01-01-13, 07:29 PM
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I need to get more cycling books - read all that I have. I really like reading the books by Samuel Abt. Laurent Fignon's autobiography changed my outlook on him. Definitely need to read Slaying the Badger.
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01-01-13, 07:34 PM
#142
You gonna eat that?
I just finished The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything by James Martin, SJ, the guy who NPR uses lately for their authority on all things Catholic. I grew up Catholic and I could see where he was coming from, but his view of life as a member of a religious order doesn't align well with life for the rest of us. Still, there were some interesting things in there.
Now reading The Life of Pi by Yann Martel, which is a compelling read.
Now reading The Life of Pi by Yann Martel, which is a compelling read.
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I stop for people / whose right of way I honor / but not for no one.
Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
01-01-13, 07:38 PM
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Now reading The Life of Pi by Yann Martel, which is a compelling read.
01-01-13, 08:21 PM
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Just re-read this for the first time in 20 years:
For this guy (the one in the middle
):
For this guy (the one in the middle
):
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01-01-13, 08:34 PM
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Deer Hunting with Jesus by Joe Baegant. I had to read it quick before I gave it to my daughter for Christmas.
01-01-13, 09:17 PM
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The friend of Louie's who taught the Japanese guard to swear in English owned the gas station in the small town I grew up in and I went to school with 4 of his daughters. Another prisoner in the camp before his last one was one of my high school teachers... I never knew anything about his past until he died a few years back. The horrors those men experienced is unbelievable.
01-01-13, 10:03 PM
#147
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Jim, Captain Blight & Al - thanks for the advice! I'll start with Master & Commander, and go from there!
Alan
Alan
Last edited by oldskoolwrench; 01-02-13 at 12:17 AM.
01-01-13, 10:59 PM
#150
What??? Only 2 wheels?
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What ever happened to the second Joe Manton rifle, the one given to the sulking Abdul? We must suppose the sultan ended with it.
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Real cyclists use toe clips.
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Real cyclists use toe clips.
With great bikes comes great responsibility.
jimmuller