I'm looking to pick that one up.I'm currently reading The Money Culture by Michael Lewis, and am hoping to tackle Barbarians at the Gate afterwards.The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki
Tips and strategies for starting your own business. Technology and physical products are definitely the focus here but Guy provides insight into any new business. As with most it's a very fast read packed with bullet points and random quotes.
Is this book so well known that the author's first name and title of the book should be evident?Now moving onto Greenberg's book.
It was really hard for me to get into, but I kept at it and it's paying off. The bad part is that you're not introduced to the interesting part of the story for some time. You're first introduced to two "magicians" who aren't really interesting, and then you're introduced to Mr. Norell, who is really not a pleasant character, then some stuff happens to start building the story up, and then finally Strange is introduced and you start getting some better plot development, contrasts in personality of the two main characters, etc.I dont' know how far you got, but at least read until Jonathan Strange is introduced. If you don't like it much after that point, i'm not entirely sure it'll get better.what do you think of this? are you far along? i picked it up some time ago with high hopes. i like it but i can't devote enough time to making any headway. i find myself bouncing between new yorker issues and manchester's a world only lit by fire...Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell
I think it made the best seller list a week or two back.Is this book so well known that the author's first name and title of the book should be evident?Now moving onto Greenberg's book.
Keep working at it it's not a quick read by any means but I found the last half moves along very quickly.what do you think of this? are you far along? i picked it up some time ago with high hopes. i like it but i can't devote enough time to making any headway. i find myself bouncing between new yorker issues and manchester's a world only lit by fire...Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell
yeah, it's not a bad book by any means. i think it is written well and holds a lot of promise. i refuse to put down my NYers though and this is the type of book that demands commitment.Keep working at it it's not a quick read by any means but I found the last half moves along very quickly.what do you think of this? are you far along? i picked it up some time ago with high hopes. i like it but i can't devote enough time to making any headway. i find myself bouncing between new yorker issues and manchester's a world only lit by fire...Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell
Have you read ALastair Reynolds: Chasm City? Excellent new sci-fi (British) He has a bunch of other books, but that and Revelation Space are really good places to startLast 4, consisting of too many sequels:
Judas Unchained by Peter Hamilton: Excellent big-scale SF. Judas started slow, but ended up fulfilling the promise that Pandora's Star had.
Red Lightning by John Varley: Sequel to John Varley's Red Thunder. Both of these are strong homages to Heinlein. Thunder was a modern day Rocket Ship Galileo, while Lightning drew more from Moon is a Harsh Mistress. This sequel didn't quite match the first one for me, it is definitely a worth read, IMO.
Coyote Rising by Allen Steele: Mildly interesting book that continues Coyote, but the presentation drops it a lot. It's more a collection of stories than a cohesive book, and that loses a lot of the emotional investment this could have had. Eh
Almost Dead by Charlie Huston: Noir Vampire story that trys way to hard to be cool. Another Eh.
Next up, the Lost book Bad Twin then Building Harlequin's Moon by Larry Niven and some rookie.
I've got book 3 of the Revelation Space series in my To Be Read pile. Obviously 1 and 2 read, along with Chasm City. Definitely liked CC the best. RS 1 and 2 had some very interesting concepts involved, but very few sympathetic characters that I could get behind. Overall, I will probably read anything he puts out, but he isn't a Hardback read.Have you read ALastair Reynolds: Chasm City? Excellent new sci-fi (British) He has a bunch of other books, but that and Revelation Space are really good places to startLast 4, consisting of too many sequels:
Judas Unchained by Peter Hamilton: Excellent big-scale SF. Judas started slow, but ended up fulfilling the promise that Pandora's Star had.
Red Lightning by John Varley: Sequel to John Varley's Red Thunder. Both of these are strong homages to Heinlein. Thunder was a modern day Rocket Ship Galileo, while Lightning drew more from Moon is a Harsh Mistress. This sequel didn't quite match the first one for me, it is definitely a worth read, IMO.
Coyote Rising by Allen Steele: Mildly interesting book that continues Coyote, but the presentation drops it a lot. It's more a collection of stories than a cohesive book, and that loses a lot of the emotional investment this could have had. Eh
Almost Dead by Charlie Huston: Noir Vampire story that trys way to hard to be cool. Another Eh.
Next up, the Lost book Bad Twin then Building Harlequin's Moon by Larry Niven and some rookie.
Different strokes I guess - I have everything in hardback.Absolution Gap was well worth it IMHOI've got book 3 of the Revelation Space series in my To Be Read pile. Obviously 1 and 2 read, along with Chasm City. Definitely liked CC the best. RS 1 and 2 had some very interesting concepts involved, but very few sympathetic characters that I could get behind. Overall, I will probably read anything he puts out, but he isn't a Hardback read.Have you read ALastair Reynolds: Chasm City? Excellent new sci-fi (British) He has a bunch of other books, but that and Revelation Space are really good places to startLast 4, consisting of too many sequels:
Judas Unchained by Peter Hamilton: Excellent big-scale SF. Judas started slow, but ended up fulfilling the promise that Pandora's Star had.
Red Lightning by John Varley: Sequel to John Varley's Red Thunder. Both of these are strong homages to Heinlein. Thunder was a modern day Rocket Ship Galileo, while Lightning drew more from Moon is a Harsh Mistress. This sequel didn't quite match the first one for me, it is definitely a worth read, IMO.
Coyote Rising by Allen Steele: Mildly interesting book that continues Coyote, but the presentation drops it a lot. It's more a collection of stories than a cohesive book, and that loses a lot of the emotional investment this could have had. Eh
Almost Dead by Charlie Huston: Noir Vampire story that trys way to hard to be cool. Another Eh.
Next up, the Lost book Bad Twin then Building Harlequin's Moon by Larry Niven and some rookie.
Can't pimp this book enough, was going to start a seperate thread on this until someone bumped this one.Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 gives you the step by step detail of what happened to give rise to many of the issues we are dealing with today. Many of the mujahedin training camps that we (US) provided funding for were the same ones we were bombing 15 years later. The detail in this book is simply amazing. I can't recommend it enough for those of you wishing to obtain a better understanding of the enemy of today. Osama bin Laden didn't just happen and the US didn't just find out about him during Clinton's presidency.Just finished An End To Evil by Frum and Perle. Just started reading Ghost Wars by Coll.
I presume you're talking about Mike Greenberg. What did you think about the book? While there were some chuckles, I have never disliked a person so much who wasn't trying to be disliked. He came across as an arrogant, self absorbed, metrosexual tool.Now moving onto Greenberg's book.
Don't you mean "Until I Find You"? Good book. Not one of his best, but good.I just started "The Memory Keeper's Daughter". So far it'sUntil I Loved You -- The latest John Irving. I'm about halfway through and, well, Irving is amazing. Awesome, awesome writer. Another great book (so far).
Yea something like that. It is a good book. It is not my favorite of his, but even a lower echelon Irving book is in aobut the 98% of contemporary novels.Don't you mean "Until I Find You"? Good book. Not one of his best, but good.I just started "The Memory Keeper's Daughter". So far it'sUntil I Loved You -- The latest John Irving. I'm about halfway through and, well, Irving is amazing. Awesome, awesome writer. Another great book (so far).
Sweet Thursday continues the story of mac and the flophouse boys. Just as good as cannery row.Just finished Cannery Row by John Steinbeck: A book about a bunch of bums(?) trying to throw a party. As the story is told, a lot of other little stories about other inhabitants of Cannery Row are told.Well written and funny to read, easy and quick to read. Good book
Thanks, I read somewhere that Tortilla Flat also covers the topicSweet Thursday continues the story of mac and the flophouse boys. Just as good as cannery row.Just finished Cannery Row by John Steinbeck: A book about a bunch of bums(?) trying to throw a party. As the story is told, a lot of other little stories about other inhabitants of Cannery Row are told.Well written and funny to read, easy and quick to read. Good book
Synopsis
...Early 18th century: A decade-long expedition to South America is launched by a team of French scientists racing to prove the circumference of the earth and to reveal the mysteries of a little-known continent to a world hungry for discovery and knowledge...
...In the 1740s, a young scientist named Jean Godin traveled from France to Peru--a French colony in those days--as part of a project to map the earth and measure its size. There he met and married a teenage bride, Isabel Gramesón, hoping to take her back to France with him. In order to get permission to do so, he left Isabel behind and trekked across the continent to confer with the colonial authorities--who promptly forbade him to return, because Isabel's part of Peru was under Spanish rule. Twenty years later, Isabel herself set out to find her husband on a perilous journey that culminated in a long sojourn, alone, in the rain forest as she tried to survive. This dramatic true story is told against the backdrop of early scientific inquiry as well as the tortured history of colonialism in South America.
How was this? An intriguing premise.Cell- Stephen King
Yeah, I was talking about Greenberg's book. Pretty awful, though I only made it 50 pages and put it down. For reference, I picked up T.O.'s book and cruised through it with no problem (while on vacation). upon returning, I saw Greenberg's book on my nightstand and thought about opening it again. With your endorsement, I doubt I will open it tonight either.I presume you're talking about Mike Greenberg. What did you think about the book? While there were some chuckles, I have never disliked a person so much who wasn't trying to be disliked. He came across as an arrogant, self absorbed, metrosexual tool.Now moving onto Greenberg's book.
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Twelve Hawks's much anticipated novel is powerful, mainstream fiction built on a foundation of cutting-edge technology laced with fantasy and the chilling specter of an all-too-possible social and political reality. The time is roughly the present, and the U.S. is part of the Vast Machine, a society overseen by the Tabula, a secret organization bent on establishing a perfectly controlled populace . Allied against the Tabula are the Travelers and their sword-carrying protectors, the Harlequins. The Travelers, now almost extinct, can project their spirit into other worlds where they receive wisdom to bring back to earth—wisdom that threatens the Tabula's power.
I thought American Gods was meh. I've got Neverwhere sitting on my shelf, but haven't been tempted to read it yet. Let me know if you do.Is Speaker for the Dead as good as Ender's Game?American Gods - Neil Gaiman
My BIL and SIL have been trumpeting his work to me every time I see them for the last couple of years, so I finally picked up one of his novels. While I don't think I am as big of a fan of his as they are, the book was pretty damn good. I really enjoyed the Gods as relatively ordinary people angle. I'll be checking out more of his work soon.
Shock Wave - Clive Cussler
Standard Dirk Pitt fare. Decent escapist fiction.
A Spot of Bother - Mark Haddon
Decent follow-up, but nowhere near as good as The Curious Incident. The main character was a little too neurotic for my liking.
Xenocide - Orson Scott Card
Third book in the Ender series. Not bad, but not even in the same ballpark as Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead. The story bogged down at times and got a little too philosophical.
The Man from St. Petersburg - Ken Follett
Dull. In a month, I won't even remember what the book was about.