was just reading through the Davinci code trailer thread and im a bit into books right now, so

im currently reading "absurdistan" by eric campbell

absoulutely awesome read

eric campbell has been the a foreign correspondant for the abc for years, and has been stationed in russia, china, afganistan and other assorted dangerous and interesting places

its toally mind blowing reading about how some people live in other parts of the world

russia in particular was fascinating, with the politics and the tough living conditions and the corruption (its almost hard to believe some of the things he writes, because they are just so wrong, such as russian political leaders blowing up appartment blocks in russia, blaming the chechnians and starting a war, just so that the russian leaders can look strong)

hes currently stationed in afganistan and its super interesting
afganistan isnt what i expected (post taliban) at all

basically, i cant put this book down

getting wisdom teeth out today (FUN!) so i'm getting into the harry potter books from the gf

i havent seen no hp moofies or read any of the books

i would like to give them a try though, to see what all the fuss is about

gl with the wisdom teeth (GO LOCAL)

rereading Bill Brysons stuff.

My favourite author by far :)

Playboy magazine

Currently I'm reading Nick Earls' Bachelor Kisses

It's funny as hell. Recommended. Anyone else read any Nick Earls?

thanks spooky

exactly my thinking, never got into the books but ppl must like them for a reason so im givin them a try :)

Orb, I just finished Nick Earl's Zigzag Street. It was ok, not awesome. I liked all the Brisbane references.

Nick Earl was my doctor was I was a little fella. I've read most of his books, they're not bad, the familiarity of the locations makes them a much better read than they would be otherwise.

I just finished reading through the Peter F Hamilton books again. Can't wait for the next book to come out.

I'm currently reading Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. Nice and similar style of writing to Da Vinci Code, but this time it's about cryptography and security related stuff .. I'm about half way through and finding it interesting so far.

I am waiting for the new Patricia Cornwell novel which elvis got me for christmas....

Currently reading the 'Foundation' series by Asimov. Best sci-fi read ever, imo.

I'm currently reading thru the January issue of PC Powerplay.

i read bulletin. books are too long.

mathematics of evolution by fred hoyle. it's fred hoyle! so it's gotta be good... bit heavy in places though & just like all theoretical physics it's hard to understand the why's of some of the assumptions, but hoyle is very meticulous.

oo yeah, I got Ralph in the mail yesterday. They have a sealed section with nipple. Very rude.

I have read a heap of Nick Earls stuff. There was a play adaption of zigzag street which was really funny that was on at the La Boite theatre.

Currently reading "Are You Experienced?" which is pretty meh. A story about backpacking around india. Can't remember the author it's that meh.

Aight, the Nick Earls stuff is extra funny for me cause my wife is a doctor and a lot of the stuff that goes on I can relate to.

Just finished "Bringing down the House" by Ben Mezrich.

It's the true story of six asian students from MIT who form a card counting syndicate and take Vegas for millions. I found it freakin awesome. Stongly recommend to anyone.

stinky i love you.

reading the new peter hamilton book pandora's star. now, if i am checking this out right, pandoras star and judas unchained are a 2 part series, whereas misspent youth and the void trilogy are both in the same universe, but different stories?

the nights dawn trilogy is my favourite set of books ever, and im trying to get my hands ont he confederation handbook. also, slowly tracking down the greg mandel series.

I also have a second chance at eden which is uber.

stinky, give me books i dont have :p

I'm reading a book called Snow by Adam Roberts (I think that's his name). Its an alright-ish sci-fi thing which I've read before about the earth getting covered in snow. It does a bit of a From Dusk til Dawn about the half-way mark.

reading the new peter hamilton book pandora's star. now, if i am checking this out right, pandoras star and judas unchained are a 2 part series, whereas misspent youth and the void trilogy are both in the same universe, but different stories?

Man I waited FOEVAR for Judas Unchained to come out! Yep, it is a series. Its pretty good, though I thought the first book was way better than the second (meaning I was a bit disappointed in the second, especially after waiting for it for so long - I got Pandora's Star very soon after its release so was waiting I guess almost a year for it. Still, its pretty awesome - I really like Peter H Hamilton's stuff (Night's Dawn was aweseome).

Over the last three weeks I've also read:

Jarhead - a non-fiction book by a US Marine that is soon to be made into a movie. It was ok, if a bit of a depressing read. Not much combat story stuff, more about dealing with life in the Marines.

Look to Windward by Iain Banks - I read his latest book, the Algebraist, a couple months ago and really liked it, so I thought this would be worth a go. But I could barely finish it, I just found it really drab and uninteresting.

edit #2 - also read the two latest Terry Pratchett books, Going Postal (which I put off reading for AGES because the hardcover version was $50, which is bulls***) and Thud!, both of which were the usual enjoying read (Thud! slightly more so because it was a Watchmen story which I always dig more).

last edited by trog at 10:36:03 16/Dec/05

i'm reading qgl forum...

and am in between books

my last book some some dribble written in the first person... OMFG if i read 'i' 1 more time i'm gonna go postal

next i'm gonna read Mary, Mary (james patterson) which should be some light reading to clear my head of that diatribe which was that last book

i bought reality dysfunction in year 10 (1998), and neutronium alchemist about 2 weeks later. then i wated 3 years or so for naked god to come out :(

went hunting for greg mandel for a couple of years, then completely forgot about it, and just kept reading the nights dawn trilogy over and over.

i finished the series in a week once, thast how much i was engrossed in it.

now my love for peter hamilton has sparked again after i randomly found pandoras star in a book shop in sydney, and i was like OMFGBBQWTF cant believe that theres more to engross myself in.

if nights dawn ever got made into a series (coz for movies it would be like, 10 movies long) i would be in heaven.

wait ... Did trog just say that Judas Unchained is out? OMFG!

f***ing c***s! I'd been watching the US release dates, I had no idea we were getting it so much earlier.

BRB, going to bookworld.

WTF???

$66 motherf***ing dollars for a book? jesus tittyf***ing christ!

Dymocks has it for $33 ... much better ...

ive seen judas unchained in angus for 30 bucks.

but my problem is, its too big. ie, the physical size of the pages is too big :( happened with my naked god book :/

maybe it wasnt 30, but it certainly wasnt 66 at the one in toowong

I'm currently reading Good Omens by Terry Pratchet and some other prat. Tis a little slow to begin with however the story picks up about half-way through.

The previous book I read was Going Postal by Mr Pratchet. Having worked at a post office for a while I kinda had a soft spot for it. Was a good read.

wait ... Did trog just say that Judas Unchained is out? OMFG!

haha yeh, its been out for around a month :) I picked it up for around $35 I think - probably from QBD @ Indro.

but my problem is, its too big. ie, the physical size of the pages is too big :( happened with my naked god book :/

I agree! I don't mind bigger books if they're hardcover - they're a bit easier to hold. But when they're massive with floppy covers they're a pain in the ass to read.

yeah thats the naked god one, it was a big book in softcover

eventually im gonig to find an omnibus set and keep it pristine somewhere :p

actually the funny part was i lent reality dysfunction to a serbian orthodox friend of mine. he apparently found it very sacriligeous and ended up tearing it apart and buying me a new copy

Finished Seven Ancient Wonders on a trip to Melbourne a fortnight ago... which then lead me to reading all the Scarecrow books, and I'm on to Temple again. Yay Matthew Reilly.

I'll also jump in and show my support for Peter F Hamilton. I've only read the Nights Dawn trilogy so far, but it was ace.

noone had heard of him when i started reading the books, i think i started about 3 threads on here about it. good to see its taking everyone in :p

struggling to get through A Feast For Crows

Steve Waugh's autobiography. Personally signed by him! :)

Only about 100 pages through it so far (it's about 500 pages!) and it's kept me entertained so far.

Currently got "Oroonoko" by Aphra Behn, "The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break" by Steven Sherrill and "God Under Howard" by Marion Maddox on the go.

First one is turning into perhaps one of my all time favourite short political pieces after "A Hanging" by Eric Blair. Second is just my current fiction. Last is an examination of the seizing of the high moral ground by the right and far right in this country in the last 10 years, when it has traditionally been the preserve of the left.

The 3rd wave - A. Toffler.

Power vs Force by D Hawkins is next - I'm told it'll be a good read :/

Reading the final book in the Emperor series by Conn Iggulden, it's called The Gods of War.
Basically its a novelisation of Julius Caesar's life. It's mostly historically accurate and damn entertaining anyway. I'd recommend the series to anyone that watched Rome and like it. Interesting to note the differences in it but its all good.

Currently alternating between Steven Kings IT - for the third time, and Danny Sugarmans Wonderland Avenue. Only just starting it though.

Speaking of reading, right this moment I am reading a resume sent through to my company for an IT assistant position. This is so sad that its funny. Its the most casual, informal document - no grammar, no capitals, no tense structure. Oh and the use of 'ya' instead of 'you' in the cover email.

I dont want to be an alarmist but I think the world is going down the tubes.

Danny Sugarmans Wonderland Avenue

I read his No One Here Gets Out Alive book about The Doors back at school. Damn awesome read so I'm guessing that Wonderland Avenue would be quite good also.

yeah it's amazing the quality ( or lack thereof ) of job applicants these days... Working for a games company we get some absolute ripsnorters.

Currently reading the newspaper (australian and couriermail) and tv guide. Daily editions.

this thread..

Hmmm...I haven't heard of half of these authors...but then again, I'm not really into sci-fi.

Just finished "Four Fires" by Bryce Courtenay...bit boring at times but all in all, loved it!!! Just starting on "April Fool's Day" also by Bryce Courtenay. I'm gradually making my way through all of his books...strangely enough the one that I haven't read yet is "Power of One"...oh well, one day I guess!

Might have a read of "Bachelor Kisses" by Nick Earls next...I think I need a change of genre sometime soon :).

Finally got a hold of a copy of The Da Vinci Code.
Capitaine Fache can lick my balls!

Im not a Bryce Courtney fan, but I think everyone should read April Fools Day. The fact that its biographical, and the chapters are actually written by different people in his sons life make it that much better.

For those who dont know its about his son who is born with severe haemophilia and contracts HIV from a blood transfusion after aurgery or an injury, back in the day before blood was tested so vigerously.

Highly recommended, will even get you boys emotional me thinks.

Steven Donaldsons - Gap Series (once again!), still the best sci fi drama i've ever read.
And call me a sucker but I went and bought Knife of Dreams but have barely started reading it yet.

i have an egregious habit of starting books and not finishing them for ages, instead of reading one by one, technically I'm currently in the middle of:

Clive James - The Meaning of Recognition
F A Hayek - The Road to Serfdom
Charles Dickens - David Copperfield

so mostly I steer clear of fiction, my favourite author at the moment is PJ O'Rourke, whose books are about either picking a theme (such as economics) and travelling around the world trying to comprehend that theme and writing satirically about the travels and the people he hung out with, or are simply books about travel

In the last two months ive read -
Harry Potter 4,5 and 6
The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time - Mark Haddon
Scar Tissue - Anthony Kiedis
and im now onto David Gemmel (one of my favourite authors) newest book - Lord of The Silver Bow (1st book in a 3 part series about Troy)

Halfway though "Consolations of Philosophy" by Alain De Botton. It's pretty good, gives a basic overview of some of the more well known philosophers with modern day examples and parables, though I find the guy's writing style a bit pompous. Worth a read if you're into the non-fiction/history though.

and im now onto David Gemmel (one of my favourite authors) newest book - Lord of The Silver Bow (1st book in a 3 part series about Troy)

Oooo,gonna have to check that one out,he's one of my favorites as well!

Charles Dickens - David Copperfield

I got a bit of the way through A Tale Of Two Cities and had to stop as I found it incredibly boring. Does it pick up later? Is David Copperfield any better?

Reading Moby Dick atm.

noone had heard of him when i started reading the books, i think i started about 3 threads on here about it. good to see its taking everyone in :p

God you're a wanker.

as if spook reads anymore than the internets

Playwrite Harold Pinter recently won the Nobel Peace Price for Literature. His time at the podium prolly won't win him any favours from the Bush administration, but it makes for an interesting read at all the same.

Currently reading up about the hutchison effect.

Just finished The Farseer Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy, and now I'm onto The Liveship Traders Trilogy, all by Robin Hobb.

The Farseer Trilogy / Tawny Man Trilogy were the best 6 books I have ever read in my entire life. I strongly suggest that anyone that enjoys fantasy to pick them up, because I couldn't put them down.

Pharcyde,can you go into a bit more detail about those books as im in the market for something new.Are the Farseer and Tawny man novels related or differant stories all together?

Farseer Trilogy rawks. And yeah the Tawny Man series is set with same peeps around 15ish years later. Both trilogies very rawkin though I've only read the frist 2 of the Tawny Man one. Haven't got around to finishing the last one.

Read them both, they kick serious ass.

edit: made a mistake LOLOLOLO

last edited by taggs at 15:49:09 18/Dec/05

spook;
first harry potter book was great, almost halfway through the 2nd

get on them pronto

Yea the Farseer Trilogy is the first of the lot, then the Liveship traders is a completely different story set in another part of the world, way south of where the Farseer Trilogy is set, then the Tawny Man trilogy is about the same characters in the Farseer Trilogy, but about 15 years down the track after the events of the first trilogy.

I suggest reading Farseer Trilogy, Tawny Man Trilogy, and then Liveship Traders. There is very, very little that you will miss out on by skipping the Liveship Traders, and the characters in the other trilogies are much, much better.

Definately recommend it though man, it's absolutely brilliant.

Cool...writing those down and will look for them this week.

Yeah more props for the Robin Hobb books here. I LOVED the Farseer Trilogy and Tawny Man Trilogy. I just finished reading the Liveship Traders. I liked the liveship books but having read the tawny man kinda spoiled one of the surprises in the liveship story. Those who have read all 9 books will know what I mean. The thing I found strange about the tawny man trilogy is that I was getting tearry eyed over an animal's death in teh second book, yet didn't care as much about a human's death in the third one... Is there something wrong with me?

For those who like a good fantasy read, I will once again have to plug Ian Irvine. His View from the Mirror quartet are the best books I have ever read. Dash out and grab yourselves a copy of "A Shadow on the Glass" today. Or tomorrow, it's kinda late now...

As for what I'm reading, I'm re-reading the "Tomorrow, when teh war began" series by John Marsden. I'm sooooooooo freakin' bored down here in Sydney that I've resorted to reading those books. I read them about 8 years ago though so I forgot a lot of what happens so there are still a few surprises.

I saw Steve Waugh signing copies of his book at Castle Towers the other day, but he stopped signing just as I was about to buy a copy so I didn't bother... that turd...

Can anybody recommend me some good fantasy novels? I really dislike Eddings. I hate lame, stereotypical fantasy. I hate the lame old good vs evil, elves, magic and uber-hero-who-is-perfect-and-never-fails kinda crap. THe cool thing about Irvine's books is that he created his own races and gave them all a rich back story, history and culture. I think there's a certain beauty in tragedy and unfortunately, a lot of books tend to be a bit to sugar coated for my liking.

Yeah, I've read all the Eddings books and they are good reads for younger kids, but so many plot holes/inconsistancies/contradictions.

For a really good sci-fi read: check out the series of books by Orson Scott Card like Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow and Shadow of the Hegemon. Love those books.

Johnny The Homicidal Maniac, and Squee's wonderful big giant book of unspeakable horrors both by jhonen vasquez

Ive been re-reading all the Eddings Novels for years and i must say i really enjoy them.If you dislike the fantasy side you could try "Regina's Song".Its a thriller with a bit of supernatural thrown into the works.I was hesitant in reading this one but i figured i've enjoyed pretty much all of Eddings books down the years and was plesantly surprised with this one.

I've just finished reading Wages of Sin by Stephen coonts, very good read for a semi-spy/crime novel. recently read the latest by feist and jordan - both very good. Currently reading New Spring by jordan - quite good for a prequel book, but also picked up Eragon by Christopher Paolini at the airport for my weekly trip to melbourne.

and im now onto David Gemmel (one of my favourite authors) newest book - Lord of The Silver Bow (1st book in a 3 part series about Troy)

Oooo,gonna have to check that one out,he's one of my favorites as well!

definitely! i've read all of gemmels books to date ... definitley one of the stand out epic fantasy writers atm. i'll be grabbing this book as well. :D

Can anybody recommend me some good fantasy novels? I really dislike Eddings. I hate lame, stereotypical fantasy. I hate the lame old good vs evil, elves, magic and uber-hero-who-is-perfect-and-never-fails kinda crap. THe cool thing about Irvine's books is that he created his own races and gave them all a rich back story, history and culture. I think there's a certain beauty in tragedy and unfortunately, a lot of books tend to be a bit to sugar coated for my liking.

i agree... eddings' belgariad series was so ludicrously childish... & i read the first 3 book when they came out in the 80's & was a teenager! all the characters act like children... even like 1000year old wizards act like spoiled brats! by the last book of the series it was so sugar coated i could absorb no more.
for really non standard fantasy, or standardish fantasy with an odd twist i recommend Stephen Donaldsons' Chronicles of Thomas Covernant & Micheal Moorcock's Eternal Champion books.


last edited by demon at 13:21:11 19/Dec/05

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time - Mark Haddon

Great book.

allan border autobiography....
2 bucks at vinnies.

me thinks ive been ripped off.

also the second andy mcnab book. well the 2nd non fiction book. cant think of the name. its in my car

ive read about 10 books in my life. but im trying to see what the fuss is all about.

I got a bit of the way through A Tale Of Two Cities and had to stop as I found it incredibly boring. Does it pick up later? Is David Copperfield any better?

Reading Moby Dick atm.

Although I have never read David Copperfield, I have read a number of others
Barnaby Rudge, Martin Chuzzlewit, Little Dorrit, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations and Oliver Twist.

Of these, Great Expectations is easily the best, because it adheres closest to a good structure. Most of the rest of Dickens stuff tends to meander along, all the while slowly building to a killer climax. The one in Tale of Two Cities is actually very good, so stick with it.

Speaking of Dickens and Moby Dick, I personally found Moby Dick to be kind of the same, meandering along at a gentle pace slowly setting you up for the climax. I did however find it to be a fascinating book.

Lastly, if you want a classic book that barrels along like a Tom Clancy thriller (ok maybe not quite that fast), try Dumas' stuff like Three Musketeers or The Count of Monte Cristo.

Dr Karl cos he's a madc***

Lastly, if you want a classic book that barrels along like a Tom Clancy thriller (ok maybe not quite that fast), try Dumas' stuff like Three Musketeers or The Count of Monte Cristo.

Yeah I really enjoyed The Three Musketeers, I'll have to check out Count Of Monte Cristo.

Thanks for the Dickens info, I'll persevere with A Tale since its apparently building up to something.