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Brian.

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Everything posted by Brian.

  1. I've just had a look at the Folio new year sale and I can't say I'm impressed with what books they have discounted.
  2. Good to see you back, I hope you have a very productive 2024.
  3. It's about time I finished off with my thoughts about the remaining books I have left from 2023. Upgrade by Blake Crouch (4/5) I've really enjoyed anything I've read from Crouch and this was no different. His Sci-Fi always manages to get my brain working without it being too technical. I enjoyed this a lot but for me it didn't quite reach the heights of Recursion or Dark Matter. The were a few twists along the way but it lacked some of the deeper stuff that some of his other books have. So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport (3/5) Cal Newport is a computer science professor at Gerogetown University in America. Despite his expertise in computer science his books tend to lean hard towards productivity and concentration away from computers and phones. I think his best book is Digital Minimalism and this follows similar idea but looks at how to cultivate a career path by taking unusual routes. I thought the core of his arguements are good but as with a lot of authors in the productivity space his examples are outliers. These outliers achieve what most people can't or don't and that makes them poor examples for the everyday person. Soldier Five by Mike Coburn (4/5) Mike Coburn was one of the members of Bravo Two Zero, an SAS patrol who were compromised on a mission in Iraq. Of the eight men who were involved, 3 died, 4 were captured and 1, Chris Ryan, managed to escape. There have been a few books written about the partol including 2 from people who were there but this is the only one the MOD tried to ban. I thought this was a really good book and adds some more flesh to a well told story. It is very clear that Coburn feels let down by his treatment from the MOD and their lawyers and I can't say I blame him. I'll have to carry this on in another post as I've got to go to work.
  4. Anything that is translated will lose something, I think that is unavoidable. Whether it is worth reading the works in Greek is hard to say because I imagine ancient Greek differs to modern Greek language, I could be wrong though. I have read some of the Stoic works so I can offer some advice there. I think the best book to start off with is Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and then probably The Enchiridion by Epictetus. I recommend these are they are an easy place to start, especially Meditations.
  5. Hi Yassine, welcome to the forum. What kind of books do you like to read?
  6. We are creeping towards the end of the year. The below is a copy and paste of Athena's guide from a few years ago but we thought a new thread would be a good idea as we have some new members. That means a bunch of us will be creating new reading blogs for 2024. Book Blogs / Reading Lists marked with '2023' in the title will be moved to Past Book Blogs on or around a week into 2024. Any that are marked as 'continuous' (or 'ongoing') will be left in the main Book Blogs forum (this one). We are only humans, so if we move your blog / list by mistake or we don't move it when we should have, please let us know by posting in this thread after the other blogs/lists have been moved. We won't start moving the 2023 blogs until mid January so there is plenty of time. When you start a new blog/list for 2024, can you please ensure you put '2024' in the topic title. Thank you! You may want to make some 'blank' posts at the beginning of your topic. We are unable to insert blank posts into a topic at a later time, so please make sure you save enough for yourself. To prevent people replying before you've finished setting up your reading blog/list, please put "please do not reply to this topic yet" or something like it, in bold in the first post and subsequent ones of your topic. When you are ready for people to reply, please make a new post telling people your topic is now ready for posting in. If you have any questions, please ask ! I promise we don't bite.
  7. Fantastic news. I wish you a swift recovery.
  8. I’m generally not a fan of someone else carrying on a series of novels and I can’t see this being up to the usual le Carre standards. It can work if most of the writing has been done and a novel just needs finishing and editing but writing a completely new work, not for me.
  9. The idea of the bookshelves is a good one but I don't use them so I wouldn't miss them. There are other sites such as Goodreads and Librarything which do the same thing in a much easier way.
  10. I've noticed that they now have 3 of Murakami's books in print and also one of the Wallander novels. I love both writers and the editions Folio produce but the prices for the standard editions seem to increase everytime I take a look.
  11. I finished Upgrade the other day so I made a start on my next book, Blood Meridian by Cormac Mccarthy. I'm not sure about the writing style at the moment but I'll stick with it as it gets such positive reviews.
  12. Starting a new book tonight, Upgrade by Blake Crouch. If it’s anything like Dark Matter or Recursion then I’m in for a treat.
  13. Have you read any spy novels so far or are you new to the genre? The 2 giants of spy novels, especially from the post war/cold war era are John le Carre and Len Deighton. If you decide to try something by either of them, be sure to double check that you aren't picking up something in the middle of a series or trilogy. You also have the James Bond novels written by Ian Fleming. They can be read in any order but in my opinion the best one is the first, Casino Royale. Frederick Forsyth is another author to consider, especially if you want a bit more action. Free Agent by Jeremy Duns is well regarded and was mentioned as "one of the thrillers of the year" by The Telegraph when it was published. Finally, although his work is non-fiction you should also consider reading books written by Ben Macintyre. He writes very well and his books often read like thrillers.
  14. Brian.

    Pets - 2023

    She's a bit of a minx at times but generally good as gold. We got a microchip cat flap installed and while Libby will use it happily Rosie refuses to go near the thing. They are very different in character, Rosie is much bolder and approaches most people as soon as she meets them. We were a little worried that Rosie would dominate Libby as Libby is quite small but she gives as good as she gets. They aren't best friends and probably never will be but they do like to chase each other around the house like lunatics. Rosie love attention though and loves nothing more than to curl up on my lap when I'm watching a movie.
  15. Nice haul. Whenever I feel a bit guilty about buying books I always rationalise it in my head by considering how much entertainment time I get for the money. Its not like-for-like, but if I go to the cinema to watch a movie I get a few hours entertainment whereas a book costing the same will keep me occupied for many many more hours. That is how I justify it anyway 😁
  16. Update time. Free Fall: A Sniper's Story by Nicolai Lilin (3/5) I thought that this book was a non-fiction account of a conscript's life in the Russian army. When I finished, I realised this isn't quite the case but more on that later. Nicolai was born and raised in Transnistria, a disputed region in Moldova on the Russian border. When he was of age, Nicolai was conscripted into the Russian army and joined an unusual regiment known as the Saboteurs. Nicolai was a good marksman so trained as a sniper in this regiment. I wouldn't say I enjoyed this book but I did race through it in no time at all. It involves all the horror and gory details of war but is balanced out by the camaraderie between men in very difficult circumstances. From reading the book it is clear that none of the conscripts Nicolai came across were happy being called up. Most of them didn't feel any real pride towards their country due to the corrupt politicians running the show. They knew that running away would result in prison and probably torture as well. When I finished the book I read some of the reviews on Goodreads and disocvered that this is actual a work of fiction. It is based on the experiences Nicolai had while being a conscript but how much is real life we never find out. My bugbear with this is that at no point in the book is it made clear that it is a novel. I think this was done intentionally to sell more books. Eastern Horizons by Levison Wood (3/5) At the age of 22 Levison Wood decided to hitch hike from England to India through Russia, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. His budget for doing this trip? £750. As you would expect, this isn't an account of glamorous travel but a gritty travelogue full of adventure and risk. Wood wrote this book 13 years after the event but you wouldn't know it as it is packed with detail. At the end of the book Wood revisits a few of the people he met on his travels which is really nice touch to finish things off. The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (3/5) This is the last book of the Sherlock Holmes stories and finished out the series for me. This contains 12 short stories of mixed quality but another good showing from Conan Doyle. There are a few stories which rely heavily on earlier tales. I don't know if they are reworkings or different drafts of the same idea. Some of the stories feature narrators other than Watson and while they do work I think they are weaker than the ones which Watson narrates. All in all I have enjoyed my time with Sherlock Holmes and I can see myself revisiting his stories again at some point in the future. Getting Started in Amateur Radio by Steve Nicols (3/5) I know read some pretty niche books but this one may top the list. I've always been intrigued by the fact that it is possible to speak to people on the other side of the world using a radio. In recent weeks I have been watching a lot of videos about the subject on YouTube and I am considering doing my foundation licence. The foundation licence is required to become a radio operator in the UK and although this book doesn't cover what you need to know, it is a good introduction. There are parts which need explaining in a simpler way in my opinion but I still think this is a decent primer.
  17. This thread contains what people consider to be their top 3 classics, there are loads of fantastic books named.
  18. If you haven's seen the movie (Whale Rider 2002) it's well worth a watch.
  19. I’m trying to work through some of my physical TBR at the moment so I’m just about to start The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I’m hoping it will offer me some respite from the studying I’m having to do at the moment. It feels like being back at the training college again.
  20. It was very nice outside today so I made sure I got some fresh air before the rain arrives tomorrow.
  21. Time for a little update. I'm in the middle of a role change at work and I'm also studying, or at least trying to, (I swear it never used to be this hard) for a new qualification. All this has meant that my reading as been a bit sporadic but I've still managed to finish 6 books since Shogun. Gypsy King by Nigel Cawthorne (1/5) Luckily I was given this, if I had paid for it I think I would have asked for my money back. This book is terrible, it’s basically a padded out Wikipedia entry full of endless quotes from pre-bout press conferences. There is little insight into Fury as a person and worst of all the book is full of editing errors and spelling mistakes. It’s no surprise the publisher went out of business if this is the kind of thing they thought was worth printing. Killing Moon by Jo Nesbo (3/5) The 13th book in the Harry Hole series and the most recent. It is probably unfair but I can't help but compare the Harry Hole series to the Kurt Wallander series. The way the Wallander series came to a conclusion was perfect and I'm starting to think that the Harry Hole series should have ended a book or two ago as well. This isn't a bad book but I find Harry to be predictable and more than a little annoying now. It feels Nesbo is running out of ideas for Harry and it is showing on the page. The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle (4/5) Book 7 of 9 in the complete works of Sherlock Holmes. This is a story split across two time periods. I found the first part to be merely ok where nothing of much note happens. We then jump back in time to explore the history of the crime in the first part. I found this part very enjoyable and particularly well told. Drug Wars by Neil Woods (4/5) I heard of Neil Woods through a podcast about undercover police work and discovered that he has written a few books. This book concentrates on his experience undercover in the drugs trade. What emerges is a worrying story of corruption that reaches the highest levels of authority. Woods explains how he became seriously concerned for his own safety when working with certain policemen who he believed to be under the pay of the gangs he was investigating. He explains how this corruption works and how gangs pay people to become policemen in the first place who act as 'sleeper' agents inside the force until needed. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (4/5) I'm pretty sure I've seen the movie but I couldn't remember much about it when reading the book. A woman (Rachel) sees the same couple out of the train window on her daily commute. In her head she makes up a story about their lives to pass the time. One day she thinks she see something happen between the couple and then the news comes out that the woman is missing. Rachel's main issue now is that she seems unhinged, her ex lives a few doors down from the couple, and she is an alcoholic. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would because none of the characters are likeable. The key here is that although they are unlikeable, they are all interesting in their own way. I did get a little frustrated at Rachel regularly deciding to turn her life around only to get drunk again. I think I'm growing weary of the use of alcoholism in the books I'm reading. His Last Bow by Arthur Conan Doyle (3/5) Book 8 of 9 in the complete works of Sherlock Holmes. Another collection of short stories featuring Sherlock Holmes. None of these stories really stood out for me but I did like reading them nonetheless.
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