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Prof Marvel
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« Reply #25 on: August 22, 2012, 06:45:01 am » |
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Last Year after watching (in close succession) the films ""Enemy at the Gates",
"Valkyrie" , and "Defiance" I was compelled to delve into the actual events via the books
"Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad" by Wm Craig ; Various autobiographies covering
the Siege of Stalingrad and the famous Sniper War;
The biography of Claus von Stauffenberg;
"Defiance: The Bielski Partisans"; and further readings regarding the resistance efforts and "pamphlet movement" of German University Students of the time.
After such "downers", I plunged into watching anime. Lots and Lots of Funny Anime. "Oh Edo Rocket" comes to mind.
Sooooo , with that dismal trend in mind, this year I decided to change direction and I am now reading
"The Seat of the Soul" by Gary Zukaw;
"Ethics for the New Millenium" by His Holiness the Dalai Llama
"Visionary Behaviour" by Mike Weber
the Field Guide to Insects and Spiders of North America , (we have some intriguing little beasties here)
and my latest score, a vintage translation of "The Tale of Genji" by Murasaki Shikibu.
(hey, you asked....)
yhs
prof marvel
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« Last Edit: August 22, 2012, 07:13:44 am by Prof Marvel »
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Professor Marvel's Traveling Apothecary and Fortune Telling Emporium
Purveyor of Patent Remedies, Snake Oil, Cleaning Supplies, Dry Goods, and Picture Postcards
Supplying useless advise for All Occasions
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ktara
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« Reply #26 on: August 22, 2012, 08:22:07 am » |
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Jasper Fforde's Shades of Gray was amazing, but now I always feel funny recommending it because people confuse it with "Fifty Shades of Gray" which is embarrassing.
I love Jasper's books. I'm waiting for the newest  Right now, I'm waiting for the Dr. Bill Omnibus, and I'm reading The List of Seven (Mark Frost). It's about Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle as a young man and supernatural evil. |
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Arabella Periscope
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« Reply #27 on: August 23, 2012, 01:55:01 am » |
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I have just read "Sherlock Holmes & the Versailles Vision," on Amazon e-books. It's like finding a trunk in the attic filled with old issues of Cornhill's Magazine, with a long, unknown serial story in them by Conan Doyle. A historical mystery based on the true account of two Victorian ladies who claimed to have walked into the past at Versailles, into the time of Marie Antoinette. Like certain Holmes stories by John Dickson Carr and Adrian Doyle, it is just as good as the originals!
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Marasi
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« Reply #28 on: August 27, 2012, 04:53:00 pm » |
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Have many people on here read The Night Circus? It seems an obvious choice for people into Victorian period fantasy. It's a fantastic book for creating atmosphere and beautiful descriptions of interesting ideas (not to mention a good source of outfit inspiration, especially for ladies). The story leaves something to be desired, but it almost doesn't matter because the imagery is so stunning |
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Arabella Periscope
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« Reply #29 on: August 31, 2012, 12:02:42 am » |
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'To Say Nothing of the Dog,' by Connie Willis. It is an affectionate tribute to Jerome K. Jerome ('Three Men in a Boat') and is about time travel to the Victorian era and a trip down the river there.
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pakled
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« Reply #30 on: September 02, 2012, 04:35:28 am » |
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I've downloaded the Jerome book, only because Heinlein apparently didn't like it (Have Space Suit, Will Travel...  Have to look for the other one. |
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Lucius Baxter
Officer
 England
Yeah, I've been inside a firebox... what of it?
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« Reply #31 on: September 02, 2012, 09:47:13 pm » |
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Erm, an encyclopedia of forensic Science, and I mean to get back into my Quantum theory book....
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Intrepid Vampire Slayer and Inter-Dimensional man of Mystery
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James Harrison
Master Tinkerer
England
Bachelor of the Arts; Master of the Sciences
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« Reply #32 on: September 03, 2012, 08:24:48 pm » |
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I can thoroughly recommend Dan Simmons' The Terror (it got me so engrossed I blazed through it's 934 pages in a little over a week!).
One or two caveats though- probably better to skip the last few chapters as they add precious little, and if you're of a hypochondriatic (?) nature, leave the copious descriptions of scurvy and its symptoms well alone.
Other than that, it was brilliant.
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Persons intending to travel by open carriage should select a seat with their backs to the engine, by which means they will avoid the ashes emitted therefrom, that in travelling generally, but particularly through the tunnels, prove a great annoyance; the carriage farthest from the engine will in consequence be found the most desirable.
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GarethG
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« Reply #33 on: September 04, 2012, 02:57:47 pm » |
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found a book called 50 Shades of Alice in Wonderland last night on Amazon.
Oh my.
You, miss, are a terribly baaaad influence! I just had to go and investigate...  I'm now reading the second book of the trilogy  In turns funny and *ahem* rude Gareth |
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You, sir! Make an effort!
"a drifting spirit was in our hearts, and we ourselves could not understand it. We just sold our farms and set out north-westwards to find a new home."
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Nikola Tesla
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« Reply #34 on: September 17, 2012, 06:29:06 am » |
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I notice there are plenty of recommendations for non-steampunk books here, so I'll mention one I've been raving about to anyone who will listen: The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. What I like about it is its moral ambiguity; one sympathizes with whatever character one is reading about, even though some of them have perfectly reprehensible intentions. Mr. Bacigalupi also can world-build like nobody's business, and he doesn't waste pages and pages in exposition to do so; it's all done through the viewpoints of the characters so the story doesn't stop. Near-future setting, with different technology than our world but, again I must warn readers here, not in the steampunk way. There's a sort of environmentalist message implied in the world, but the story is complex and suspenseful enough so one isn't hung up on that, but I ought to mention it in case that is relevant in book selection for anyone around here. And I suppose I should mention, because I did so in my rant today in Off Topic, Neal Stephenson's Anathem (also not steampunk). I'm also obliged to do so because the friend who recommended that to me may well be reading this... ...or I should say, one of the friends, because reading it solved a little mystery as to why I was always getting a particular nonsensical question followed not long after by a recommendation for this book. Now of course Mr. Stephenson does not refrain from lengthy exposition as does Mr. Bacigalupi, in fact as I'm sure many here know he delights in it, but his expository sequences and digressions are good so that's ok. Don't want to give spoilers here either, but I will say that this one, while a big block o' Stephenson in its own right, is not a commitment to spend the next eight years reading metahistory like some of his other recent works. And it too is a pretty neat world to inhabit for a few hours...days...weeks...however long you spend in it depending on how long it takes you to go to sleep and whether or not you're employed. I do have some steampunk ones in my to-read stack but they're mixed in with all the others, in no particular order of priority. |
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« Last Edit: September 17, 2012, 06:31:02 am by Nikola Tesla »
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"An announcement that a poetry-reading is about to take place will empty a room quicker than a water-cannon." - Daniel C. Stove, The Oracles and Their Cessation
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Lady Ava
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« Reply #35 on: September 17, 2012, 05:50:44 pm » |
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found a book called 50 Shades of Alice in Wonderland last night on Amazon.
Oh my.
You, miss, are a terribly baaaad influence! I just had to go and investigate... I'm now reading the second book of the trilogy In turns funny and *ahem* rude Gareth Me? A bad influence? Never. |
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''I'm a loose bolt in a complete machine. What a match! I'm half-doomed and you're semi-sweet.'' "You want steampunk to be a novelty, a LOLcat, a meme. I want it to be my life. Which of us is going to fight harder for it?" - Dimitri Markotin *DISCLAIMER* This dungeon is fictional, and any similarities to other dungeons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.  http://www.facebook.com/avasapparelMention you're from BG when ordering for free shipping! http://www.etsy.com/shop/AshleighEllanUse 'AVA10' for 10% off! |
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citizen_erased
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« Reply #36 on: September 17, 2012, 11:20:23 pm » |
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Haven`t read it recently, but generally one of my favourite books is The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Definitely recommend it.
I also very much love the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman.
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gavinfuzzy
Gunner
 Singapore
~Till All Are gOne~
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« Reply #37 on: September 18, 2012, 04:05:41 pm » |
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Recently?
Err ...
Mortal Engines, Leviathan, in the process of reading Blood in the Skies, liking it so far...
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Noisynell ArkAngel
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« Reply #38 on: September 19, 2012, 01:18:35 pm » |
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I'm reading Mechanique- tale of the circus tresaulti which I got for my birthday because it had steampunk imagery on the cover- so glad my family are sort of getting the hint... anyway its bloody fanstastic. possibly not steampunk in purity but wondergful use of language and, oh my, I want the copper bones even knowing what the trade off is. give it a try |
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CraigHallam
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« Reply #39 on: September 19, 2012, 05:49:02 pm » |
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The first nineteen Discworld books. Currently working on #20 (Hogfather).
Man, I love those books. Hope you're enjoying them (then again, you're 19 books in, so I'm sure you are). I've been reading the Dresden Files series recently. It's great fun. And I want to get on Gail Carriger's Souless series next. I hear good things. |
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pakled
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« Reply #40 on: September 20, 2012, 02:52:02 am » |
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I guess I'll throw in The Anubis Gate, since I'm reading it very closely (not having an actual ebook reader, I tried converting it to rtf with Calibre, and it... almost...converted... |
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Lady Ava
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« Reply #41 on: September 23, 2012, 11:02:20 am » |
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Just started my annual read, Fight Club, to be followed up with Choke, also by Chuck Palhaniuk.
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Ulysses Reynolds
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« Reply #42 on: September 26, 2012, 09:41:54 pm » |
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found a book called 50 Shades of Alice in Wonderland last night on Amazon.
Oh my.
Why? Why, would she write that?  On my recently read list: Neuromancer by William Gibson Snow Crash by William Gibson Unmasking the Face: A Guide to Recognizing Emotions from Facial Expressions by Paul Ekman The Complete Sherlock Holmes (Barnes & Nobles Leatherbound Classics) by "isn't it obvious" |
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There is a reason for this. And trust me, when a bunch of harry potter geeks think your fucking retarded, you know there is something wrong.
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Andrew Styles
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« Reply #43 on: September 27, 2012, 12:38:02 am » |
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I am currently reading:
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
Feed, by MT Anderson
and The Complete Works of HP Lovecraft
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"If you must mount the gallows, give a jest to the crowd, a coin to the hangman, and make the drop with a smile on your lips" - Birgitte Silverbow Check out my blog! www.musingsoftheteenagemind.wordpress.com |
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chironex
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« Reply #44 on: September 27, 2012, 06:58:34 am » |
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Just finished Dracula and am on to a bunch of awfully rotten, chewed up English edition Perry Rhodan books I found at the Warrina Book Exchange. Finished 1 (don't have 2 or 3) and started 4, and so far it looks like, adventure-wise, the authors keep painting themselves into corners...
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Orkses is never beaten in battle. If we wins we wins and if we dies we dies fightin' so it don't count as beat. Even if we runs away it means we can always come back for anuvver go, see!
QUEENSLAND RAIL NOT FOR SALE!!!!!!
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5paz
Deck Hand
 United States
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« Reply #45 on: October 17, 2012, 11:35:56 pm » |
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I just finished reading the first four books of the Emperors Edge, now to wait for the others to release.
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Athanor
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« Reply #46 on: October 18, 2012, 08:31:03 am » |
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A good friend of mine was recently "de-cluttering" (! what a strange idea!!) her life, including giving away several boxfuls of books. Among them was "The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe", 1938 Modern Library edition, hard cover, clothbound, slightly foxed but otherwise in excellent condition; 1026 pages (!)
Among other recent acquisitions;
The H.G.Wells Classic Collection No.2, "In the Days of the Comet", "Men Like Gods", "The Sleeper Wakes", and "The War in the Air", all in one beautiful huge hardcover volume.
Lewis Spence, "An Encyclopaedia of Occultism", 1978 reprint of the 1960 University Press hardcover edition. Nice condition complete with dust jacket.
I guess I'm all set for those long winter evenings.....
Athanor.
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The Mutant must be tested severely before being allowed to remake the world in its own image.
"Truly I say to you, he who seeks, shall find. And quite often, he shall wish he hadn't."
- Elias Ashmole Crackbone O'Finnerty, "The Aphorisms of Fud". from "The Lesser Precepts", Collected Works, Vol.23, page 666; Miskatonic University Press, Arkham, Mass., 1999 (reprint)
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Royston Vasey
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« Reply #47 on: November 03, 2012, 07:47:54 pm » |
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I'm half way through Anno Dracula, and loving it.
Prior to this, I read all of Sarah Pinborough's Dog Faced Gods trilogy (btw she's well worth following if you're on Twitter, she's frequently hilarious).
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George Salt
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« Reply #48 on: November 04, 2012, 12:43:10 am » |
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I notice there are plenty of recommendations for non-steampunk books here, so I'll mention one I've been raving about to anyone who will listen: The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. What I like about it is its moral ambiguity; one sympathizes with whatever character one is reading about, even though some of them have perfectly reprehensible intentions. Mr. Bacigalupi also can world-build like nobody's business, and he doesn't waste pages and pages in exposition to do so; it's all done through the viewpoints of the characters so the story doesn't stop. Near-future setting, with different technology than our world but, again I must warn readers here, not in the steampunk way. There's a sort of environmentalist message implied in the world, but the story is complex and suspenseful enough so one isn't hung up on that, but I ought to mention it in case that is relevant in book selection for anyone around here. And I suppose I should mention, because I did so in my rant today in Off Topic, Neal Stephenson's Anathem (also not steampunk). I'm also obliged to do so because the friend who recommended that to me may well be reading this... ...or I should say, one of the friends, because reading it solved a little mystery as to why I was always getting a particular nonsensical question followed not long after by a recommendation for this book. Now of course Mr. Stephenson does not refrain from lengthy exposition as does Mr. Bacigalupi, in fact as I'm sure many here know he delights in it, but his expository sequences and digressions are good so that's ok. Don't want to give spoilers here either, but I will say that this one, while a big block o' Stephenson in its own right, is not a commitment to spend the next eight years reading metahistory like some of his other recent works. And it too is a pretty neat world to inhabit for a few hours...days...weeks...however long you spend in it depending on how long it takes you to go to sleep and whether or not you're employed. I do have some steampunk ones in my to-read stack but they're mixed in with all the others, in no particular order of priority. Two excellent books.. I'm a fan of both Neal Stephenson and Paolo Bacigalupi. Is anyone else on Good Reads? I find it throws up the occasional interesting recommendation once you've rated the books you've read. |
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hasher
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« Reply #49 on: November 04, 2012, 06:15:48 am » |
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John Boyd The Fighter Pilot who changed teh art of War not about being a fighter pilot but rather abotu a new thinking methodology. Also known as the OODA Loop Guy.
Starship titanic,
And starting a reread if the entire Jack Aubrey series.
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May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.
Hope you got your things together
Hope you're quite prepared to die
Looks like we're in for nasty weather
One eye is taken for an eye
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